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Report of tke 

Perry's Victory Centennial 

Commission 

-TO- 

The Governor of Ohio 

J.nu.ry 12. 1909 



COMMISSIONERS 

William H. Reinhart . Sandusky 
George H. Worthington . Cleveland 
Webster P. Huntington . Columbus 
S. M. Johannsen . . . Put-in-Bay 
Brand Whitlock .... Toledo 



REPORT. 



To His Excellency, the Governor of Ohio: 

The Seventy- Seventh General Assembly of Ohio at its 
late session adopted House Joint Resolution No. 97, intro- 
duced by Representative William E. Bense, of Ottawa County, 
thus taking the initial step toward what may become one of 
the most important historically commemorative events occur- 
ring on American soil. 

The resolution was adopted by both the Senate and House 
of Representatives by a unanimous vote. As a preliminary 
to further measures in the same behalf, it pledged the moral 
support of the State of Ohio to a proposed "exposition and 
centennial celebration," to be held at Put-in-Bay Island in 
the year 1913, in commemoration of the one hundredth anni- 
versary of the momentous victory of Commodore Oliver 
Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813. 
Tn furtherance of this object the resolution authorized the 
governor of Ohio to appoint a board of commissioners, con- 
sisting of five members, who should serve without compen- 
sation, "to prepare and carry out plans for said proposed 
centennial celebration," under instructions to "make report, 
from time to time, to the governor, of its proceedings." 

Tn accordance with the authority thus vested in the 
Executive, Governor Andrew L. Harris on June 22, 1908, 
appointed the undersigned as the commissioners provided for 
by lit.' Act. The commissioners met for the first time July 
23, 1908, and organized by the election of officers. They now 
beg leave to submit the following preliminary report: 

We recommend that the present commission of five mem- 
bers be enlarged, so as to constitute a board of nine members, 
thus insuring representation from all parts of the state. 

The first inquiry regarding the enterprise thus launched 
will doubtless relate to its character and scope. On this point 
the language of the resolution creating this commission seems 
to be explicit. It recommends that the proposed observance 
of the centenary of Perry's A'ictory shall take the form of "a 
suitable exposition and centennial celebration during the year 

l 



L913;" and, lest there should be any misunderstanding" as to 
the extent of the enterprise, and as a pledge of a real exposi- 
tion rather than of a mere burst of oratory and fireworks, the 
resolution concludes by "cordially inviting the National and 
State governments and the American people at large to 
participate and take part in the said centennial celebration." 
This inevitably suggests a celebration extending over some 
weeks, commemorative of the progress and achievements, 
during the century elapsing since the Battle of Lake Erie, of 
all the governments, commonwealths and communities which 
may participate in it. 

Your commissioners are greatly impressed by the fact 
that the centennial anniversary of Perry's Victory will be 
practically contemporaneous with the conclusion of one hun- 
dred years of peace between the governments of Great Britain, 
Canada and the United States, beginning with the signing of 
the Treaty of Ghent, December 24, 1814, which terminated 
the War of 1812. We are thus confronted with at least the 
possibility of an international event on Ohio soil, hardly five 
years hence, participated in by the two great English-speaking 
nations of the world, under the highest official auspices. 
What could be more appropriate than an international cele- 
bration of the conclusion of the century of peace between 
Great Britain, Canada and the United States, which has 
ensued since the signing of the Treaty of Ghent? Surely that 
ire better than a one-sided celebration of a victory of war: 
and we believe that such a celebration would have lasting 
influence for good, while affording a spectacle worthy of 
world-wide respect and emulation. 

This suggestion, however, must be held as tentative until 
such time as the progress of the enterprise may indicate the 
advisability of pursuing it in a practical and aggressive 
manner. At the present time it merely tends to show the 
broad character and general interest which may be found to 
underlie the idea of a centennial exposition in honor of Perry's 
Victory and in commemoration of the vital consequences of. 
that victory to the State of Ohio and her sister states border- 
ing on the Great Lakes. 

But there is positive evidence to show the propriety — 
and. we believe, enthusiasm - with which these states might 
join with Ohio in the celebration. The Battle of Lake Erie 

2 



was the final important naval engagement of the War of 1812 
prior to the Treaty of Ghent, and also the most momentous 
of the whole war in its consequences to the American Republic 
as now constituted. We have but to consider the vast 
domain, incalculable interests and great population of the 
states of the Union which now border on the Great Lakes, in 
order to understand this Nation's debt to Commodore Perry 
and his gallant men. 

According to the map of todav, the states most affected 
by the Battle of Lake Erie, and, therefore, most deeply inter- 
ested in its centennial celebration, are Ohio, New York, Penn- 
sylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota — 
important jewels, indeed, in the crown of modern America. 
These states now present to the waters of the Great Lakes, 
as evidence of a hundred years of progress, such rich and 
populous cities as Chicago, Buffalo, Cleveland, Milwaukee, 
Detroit, Toledo, Duluth, Erie. Ashtabula, Sandusky and many 
others of equal or lesser importance, but in the aggregate rep- 
resenting a large percentage of the urban population of the 
United States ; and these cities represent a territorial domain 
vast in extent, unsurpassed in resources and second to none 
in the world, of the same area, in respect to civilized progress. 

Your commissioners entertain no doubt, but have every 
reason to believe, that the governments of all the states named, 
and the principal cities of such states, will take official cogniz- 
ance of the centennial exposition now proposed by the State 
of Ohio in honor of Perry's Victory ; that they will participate 
in it eventually as principals and will contribute substantially 
in support and patronage to the establishment and success 
of the enterprise, as soon as placed on a solid foundation by 
the State of Ohio, which State, in the very nature of things. 
must take the initiative. 

The object in view is not primarily nor largely in behalf 
of a great industrial exposition, such as has been undertaken 
perhaps too often in recent years ; but a great opportunity is 
now presented for a successful and memorable exposition, 
under the auspices of the State of Ohio primarily, and with 
the co-operation of the other states herein named (even waiv- 
ing, for the time being, the possibility of British and Canadian 
co-operation) that shall be in the highest sense historical, 
educational, scientific and distinctly patriotic. 

3 



Definite plans arc impossible at this nine, in the absence 
of state aid, but it would seem that an exposition extending 
over perhaps seven weeks might be wisely undertaken, thus 
giving time for the proper and separate observance of the 
interests oi the various states directly involved. 

The opening" of the celebration should take on a national 
aspect in the presence of the President and Vice-President of 
the United States, the governors and other official represen- 
tatives of the several states directly interested and their official 
retinues. 

[Slothing could be more appropriate, more impressive or 
more indicative of the spirit pervading the whole enterprise, 
in view of the conclusion of this century of peace, than the 
assemblage in these waters, upon this occasion, of the greatest 
commercial fleet in the world, passing in review before the 
Chief Executive of the Nation and the official representatives 
of the states which today owe their physical boundaries to 
Perry's Victory. The vast shipping interests of the Great 
Lakes would thus present a tribute to the commercial progress 
of the American people calculated to excite the interest and 
challenge the admiration of all civilization ; and, at the same 
time, such a display, we believe, would be both a moral and 
material object lesson, more truly significant of American 
progress and of the real mission of our people among the 
nations of the earth, than any review of war ships or assem- 
blage of the enginery and equipment of war could be, at any 
time or place. We believe it not difficult to engage the neces- 
sary co-operation of the lake shipping interests in this enter- 
prise, nor to obtain for it the cordial sympathy of the national 
authorities. 

The great interests represented by the pleasure craft of 
our inland seas are also not to be overlooked, but must receive 
due attention during the course of any extended celebration 
such as is now contemplated. Many successful regattas have 
been held at Put-in-Bay, and the summer of 1913 should 
witness the most memorable of all, upon an international 
scale. At the same time the exposition should take due cog- 
nizance of the important manufacturing interests involved in 
this department of navigation. 

I loth the governments of the United States and of the 
Mate of Ohio maintain extensive fish hatcheries at Put-in-Bay, 

4 



to which the people of the Middle West are now obliged to 
look as the only salvation of our imperilled fisheries. Canada 
is equally interested with the United States and the State of 
Ohio in the preservation of these fisheries and for a long time 
has maintained an advanced position in this work. A fisheries 
exhibit of unprecedented extent would therefore be a natural 
and appropriate adjunct of the proposed exposition, and it 
could be relied upon to greatly increase the public interest and 
attendance. 

The historical character of the celebration should be 
emphasized by the assembling at Put-in-Bay, under proper 
conditions, of historical collections from all the states partici- 
pating, in connection with an instructive exhibit, which, we 
believe, could be obtained from the National Government. At 
the present time there is no little material of this kind at 
Put-in-Bay and the neighboring islands, among private 
families, in small public exhibitions and isolated collections or 
speeimens belonging to individuals and in some cases to 
municipalities. All of this material could be assembled for the 
proposed exposition and subsequently relinquished to the 
State of Ohio. The exposition should attract the conventions 
of historical societies from all of the states participating, and 
perhaps from other states, the sessions of which might readily 
be made nearly continuous during the period of the 
celebration. 

We connot overestimate the interest which the common 
schools, colleges and universities of the participating states, 
and particularly of the State of Ohio, should manifest in the 
exposition. There should be extensive exhibits of these insti- 
tutions, calculated to attract the attention of the educational 
world, and throughout the exposition Put-in-Bay and the sur- 
rounding islands might well be made the Mecca of educational 
bodies. Your commissioners have reason to believe that the 
project receives the most earnest approval of educators 
generally, and that the institutions they represent will con- 
tribute in no small degree to its success, if properly set on foot 
now by the State of Ohio. In this connection it should be 
added that all manner of conventions and assemblages, repre- 
senting the moral, industrial, scientific, historical, fraternal 
and social interests of the Nation may be expected to utilize 
the proposed expositon for their own special purposes during 

5 



the summer of 1913, thus contributing greatly to its success 
and signalizing its more than state-wide interest. 

As heretofore stated, the industrial aspect of the expo- 
Mi ion is not held as paramount or even essential, but that 
phase of the project must be left to future consideration. 
Meanwhile there should certainly be no discouragement of 
prospective exhibitors whose participation in the exposition, 
for business reasons, would be voluntary. 

There is no public memorial of Commodore Perry and the 
men who fought and perished with him, at Put-in-Bay or 
elsewhere. For nearly a hundred years such recognition has 
been denied the memories of those who, by their heroism in 
the Battle of Lake Erie, insured the rise of the present Empire 
of the Middle West and gave to American history one of its 
most brilliant chapters. Waiving, for the present, the ques- 
tion as to whether Canada and Great Britain might not be 
glad to join in a British-American memorial to the com- 
manders and sailors of both fleets, we believe there can be no 
difference of opinion regarding the proposition that it is the 
duty of Ohio now to erect some fitting memorial to the brave 
men who so distinguished her name. Nor is it unreasonable 
to expect that other states bordering on the Great Lakes will 
be glad to unite with us in this object, if such a movement 
should prove advisable. 

But we particularly recommend that any memorial under- 
taken by the State of Ohio in honor of Perry's Victory should 
take the form of a permanent building on Put-in-Bay Island. 
\ commanding site for such a building may be obtained, with- 
out cost, by the co-operation of the corporation of Put-in-Bay 
Village, and we have reason to believe that a custodian would 
be supplied by the same auspices, thus saving any further 
expense to the State after the erection of the memorial. We 
have in mind the many temporary buildings erected for various 
expositions at great expense and subsequently abandoned to 
the junk dealer; and we would avoid anything of this kind in 
connection with the proposed exposition, while at the same 
time insuring the State and its people an adequate return for 
their generous commemoration of a great event upon its one 
hundredth anniversary. 

There can be no doubt of the general approval with which 
the proposed exposition is viewed by the people of Ohio. The 

6 



project seems to find immediate favor wherever it is suggested. 
If we may judge from expressions of opinion from all parts of 
the State, the people want it ; and this sentiment is undoubtedly 
intensified because the Commonwealth of Ohio some years 
ago failed to celebrate its own one hundredth anniversary 
statehood in a formal manner. The press of the State is 
apparently a unit in favor of the enterprise, which has been 
unanimously indorsed by the Ohio Associated Dailies and by 
the Buckeye Press Association, representing practically all 
the daily and weekly newspapers in the State. Various boards 
of trade, chambers of commerce, and other business organiza- 
tions have also indorsed it, and there is no doubt that these 
favorable expressions of representative bodies may be ex- 
tended indefinitely. A significant indorsement was that 
which came from the delegates to the Xational Fraternal 
Congress, representing in convention more than seven millions 
of people in the United States and Canada. This organiza- 
tion, largely Canadian, particularly commended the suggestion 
of an international peace celebration of the Treaty of Ghent, 
in connection with the more local celebration of Perry's Vic- 
tory. In a word, no State project in the history of Ohio, or 
anv other state, it seems to your commissioners, has ever been 
suggested with a more emphatic and immediate response in 
its favor from the general public. 

It is obviously true from an historical standpoint that Put- 
in-Bay Island, the neighboring islands and the surrounding 
waters of Lake Erie offer the logical site for any celebration in 
honor of Perry's Victory, and this also holds good in reference 
to any celebration that may be undertaken in honor of the 
centenary of peace between Great Britain and the United 
States. But the advantages of this location are also practical 
and must appeal to the business sense of the State's represen- 
tatives. There are at Put-in-Bay some 2,000 acres, practically 
all of which are available for exposition purposes. Just 
beyond is Middle Bass Island, whose frontage toward the 
historic harbor of Put-in-Bay might well be utilized as inci- 
dental and accessory exposition territory. Between them lies 
picturesque Gibraltar, the home of the late Jay Cook, and the 
present summer residence of his heirs. The great financier's 
library and a rare collection of old maps and mementoes are 
still in the Cook residence at Gibraltar and would constitute 

7 



a valuable contribution to the educational and historical 
exhibits of the proposed exposition. In view of Jay Cook's 
great service to the Government in its time of need during 
the Civil War, it would seem not unreasonable to ask the 
National authorities to celebrate his memory in some formal 
manner in connection with the proposed exposition. 

The accessibility of Put-in-Bay is the concluding argu- 
ment in favor of the Island and its surrounding waters as the 
scene of the contemplated celebration. The fact that it is 
near the Canadian line brings it in touch with the British 
interests which may well be joined with our own in this 
enterprise. From the American point of view it links the 
Eastern and Western divisions of our continent; so that, by 
rail to any one of the many cities of the Middle West that 
border on the Lakes, and thence by water to Put-in-Bay, the 
facilities of transportation may be made worthy of anv former 
exposition in this country or abroad. 

Finally, a little more than four years is available for 
preparation, provided the necessary preliminary steps are now 
taken by the State of Ohio : but such action cannot be post- 
poned, with justice to the enterprise or much prospect of 
carrying it forward, beyond the present session of the Seventy- 
Eighth General Assembly. 

The liberal support and co-operation which the project 
deserves, supplemented by intelligent direction, may be 
relied upon to solve, in the not distant future, all the problems 
which, at this early stage of the enterprise, confront the 
commissioners. 

Respectfully submitted : 
( Signed) 

WILLIAM H. REINHART, 
GEORGE PL WORTHINGTON, 
WEBSTER P. HUNTINGTON, 
S. M. JOHANNSEN, 
BRAND WHITLOCK, 

Commissioners, 
[anuary 12, 1909 




1 \o. 



Report of the 

Perry's Victory Centennial 

Commission 

TO 

The Governor of Ohio 

December 16, 1909 



COMMISSIONERS 

William H. Keinhart, President Sandusky 

George H. Worthington, Vice-President.. Cleveland 

Webster P. Huntington, Secretary Columbus 

S. N". Johannsen, Treasurer Put-in-Bay 

John J. Manning Toledo 

Eli Winkler Cincinnati 

Webb C. Hayes Fremont 

Horace Holbrook Warren 

WiLLrAM C. Mooney, Woodsfield 



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MAR 20 






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SUGGESTION FOR A PERRY MEMORIAL. 

Combining the objects of a Monument, Light House, Wireless Telegraph 
Station, Meteorological Station, Life Savin" Station and Aquarium. 

The above design is fully protected by copyright, but newspapers and other 
periodicals are privileged to reproduce it. A favor will be conferred by mailing 
marked copies to the Secretary of the Perry's Victory Centennial, Columbus, O. 









REPORT 

To His Excellency the Governor of Ohio : 

The Commissioners of the Perry's Victory Centennial, as 
directed by Joint Resolution No. 97 of the Seventy-Seventh 
General Assembly, supplemented by Joint Resolution No. 6 
and Senate Bill No. 29 of the Seventy-Eighth General 
Assembly, beg leave to submit the following report: 

We deem it unnecessary to present at this time any 
special plea for the proper observance of the one hundredth 
anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie in accordance with the 
responsibilities in that connection imposed upon us by our 
appointment as Commissioners and by the legislation already 
cited. That legislation, as stated in the previous report of the 
Commissioners then acting, and filed with Your Excellency 
under date of January 12, 1909, pledged the moral support of 
the State of Ohio to a proposed "exposition and centennial 
celebration," to be held at Put-in-Bay Island in the year 1913, 
in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the 
momentous victory of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in 
the Battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813, and authorized 
the appointment of commissioners by the Executive "to 
prepare and carry out plans for said proposed centennial 
celebration." 

It recommended that the observance of this great cen- 
tenary should take the form of "a suitable exposition and cen- 
tennial celebration" and signified the importance which the 
State of Ohio attaches to the event by "cordially inviting the 
National and State governments and the American people at 
large" to participate therein. Two General Assemblies of 
Ohio have now given moral and material aid to this enterprise, 
and two Governors have appointed Commissioners. The 
project may therefore be said to have received full legislative 
and executive sanction, and further argument in its behalf is 
not required. We are now concerned only with the character 
and adequacy of the recognition which our State intends to 
bestow upon the important event which it has determined to 
commemorate. 

Under such circumstances the present board of commis- 
sioners could not fail to take a broad view of the whole sub- 

2 



ject. It has been and is our object to make the proposed cen- 
tennial celebration an occasion of historic interest and educa- 
tional value to all people, and to crown it with an achievement, 
in the form of a National Memorial, destined to be not only a 
noble tribute to American patriotism but a permanent blessing 
to humanity. These objects are now so widely understood, 
and have received such unmistakable approval in the court of 
public opinion, that we believe no cause exists for here discus- 
sing either the historical importance of the event which it is 
. proposed to commemorate or the benefit to the people of Ohio 
and other states which will ensue from adequate State and 
Naitonal aid in the enterprise. 

Since the filing of our previous report the States of Penn- 
sylvania, Michigan. Illinois and Wisconsin, in the order 
named, have, by legislation and the appointment of five com- 
missioners each, joined Ohio in the centennial project. It is 
significant that in each state this legislative action was unani- 
mous in both branches of its General Assembly ; and it is also 
noteworthy that the commissioners appointed by the several 
Governors are gentlemen of such personal wortft and promin- 
ence in civic and military affairs as to indicate the important 
light in which the Executive in each case viewed the respon- 
sibiltes with which they would be charged. The commis- 
sioners thus designated are as follows : 

Pennsylvania — Hon. A. E. Sisson, Erie ; Hon. Edward 
H. Yare, Philadelphia; Hon. M. W. Shreve, Erie; Hon. T. C. 
Jones. McKeesport; Hon. George W. Neff, M. D., Masontown. 

Michigan — Hon. Charles Moore, Detroit; Hon. Seward 
L. Merriam, Detroit; Hon. Roy S. Barnhart, Grand Rapids; 
Hon. Albert L. Stephens, Detroit; Hon. E. K. Warren, Three 
Oaks. 

Illinois — General Philip C. Hayes, Joliet ; Hon. William 
Porter Adams, Chicago; Captain Willis J. Wells, Chicago; 
Captain Chesley R- Perry, Chicago; Hon. W. H. Mcintosh. 
Rockford. 

Wisconsin — General Arthur McArthur, Milwaukee; 
Hon. John M. Whitehead, Janesville; Hon. George A. Scott, 
Prairie Farm; Hon. Ole A. Buslett, Northland: Hon. A. W. 
Sanborn, Ashland. 

These various commissions have organized for the trans- 
action of business. Their first joint meeting with the Ohio 
Commission occurred at Toledo, December 3, 1909, at which 

3 



time the utmost unity of purpose was manifested and the plans 
of the Ohio Commission, as thus far outlined and herewith 
submitted, were cordially indorsed. 

It is further proposed to obtain the active co-operation in 
the centennial project of the States of New York, Indiana, 
Minnesota, Rhode Island and Kentucky, making a total of ten 
American commonwealths participating in the common object. 
The first three states named, since they border on the Great 
Lakes and shared equally with the other states already joined 
in the centennial project, in the far-reaching results of Perry's 
Victory, come naturally within the association of common- 
wealths contemplated. Rhode Island will be invited to join 
the Lake states on the ground that she had the honor of being 
the birthplace of Commodore Perry, and Kentucky in view of 
the numerical strength of the Kentuckians and their unequaled 
sacrifices in the army of General William Henry Harrison, 
whose Northwestern campaign in the War of 1812 was con- 
temporaneous with the operations of the American fleet on the 
Great Lakes, each being indispensable to the other in the final 
triumph of the Republic. We have no doubt that all the 
states named will cordially co-operate with Ohio as soon as 
invited to do so ; and this faith is based upon experience 
hitherto; for every state thus far approached by the Ohio com- 
missioners has immediately responded with favorable legis- 
lation, while the expressions of approval of the objects in view 
by those high in authority in all four of these states have been 
uniformly spontaneous and emphatic. 

Similar favorable conditions exist in regard to the outlook 
at the National Capital. On May 18, 1909, representatives of 
the Ohio commission appeared before a meeting of the Ohio 
delegation in Congress at Washington, at which time the 
whole project of the proposed centennial celebration, with 
special reference to National aid in its behalf, was carefully 
canvassed. We quote from the minutes of the Ohio Com- 
mission : 

"< 'n the call of General J. Warren Keifer a meeting of 
the < )hio representatives was held in the Appropriations Com- 
mittee room of the House of Representatives. General Keifer 
presided. The present status of the enterprise was explained 
to those in attendance, and at the conclusion of the hearing, 
after many questions had been asked and answered, a resolu- 
tion was offered by Representative W. Aubrey Thomas, of 

4 



the Nineteenth District, instructing- Representative Keifer to 
prepare and take charge of a bill, in behalf of the Ohio delega- 
tion, making a suitable appropriation for a Perry Memorial 
building in conjunction with the State of Ohio and for such 
other purposes as might come within the objects of the Ohio 
Commissioners, said bill to be introduced at the forthcoming 
session of Congress in December, 1909. The resolution was 
unanimously adopted." 

Subsequently, by resolution of the Ohio Commissioners in 
agreement with General Keifer, the amount of the appropria- 
tion to be asked from Congress was fixed at $250,000. This 
sum, it is proposed, shall be disbursed in behalf of such objects 
in connection with the centennial celebration as may be dis- 
tinctly within the customary activities of the General Govern- 
ment; namely, a permanent National Memorial, combining 
the highest degree of utility with its historical significance, as 
will be hereinafter suggested: an educational scientific exhibit; 
a fisheries exhibit ; a life-saving exhibit and a naval pageant. 

Regarding these exhibits by the National Government, 
your Commissioners have assurances from high sources that 
they may be provided for in a mannear greatly adding to the 
educational value of the exposition and its popular interest. 
Both the State of Ohio and the National Government already 
maintain extensive fish hatcheries at Put-in-Bay Island; and 
the importance of scientfic fish propagation to the whole 
country, and especially to the people residing in the states 
bordering on the Great Lakes, clearly indicates the wisdom 
of its encouragement by means of an unsurpassed exhibit at 
the proposed exposition. The American Fisheries Society, 
assembled in National convention at Toledo, July 28, 1909, 
adopted resolutions "cordially indorsing the proposed exposi- 
tion with reference to both its historical and scientific import- 
ance, but especially in regard to the opportunity it will present 
for the promotion of the fisheries interests of the Great Lakes" 
and "commending to the National authorities the suggestion 
of their co-operation in the project by means of an adequate 
fisheries exhibit under the direction of the United States 
Government." 

The present status of affairs with reference to the invita- 
tion which the State of Ohio originally extended through its 
General Assembly, "cordially inviting the National and State 
Governments and the American people at large" to participate 

5 



in the proposed centennial celebration, may be said, therefore, 
to be as favorable as could be expected at this time, and such 
as to now warrant further and conclusive legislation. 

Your Commissioners have carefully considered the char- 
acter and scope of the proposed celebration, our deliberations 
in regard thereto taking form in resolutions adopted October 
7, l!»0!>. The more important of these resolutions, somewhat 
amplified in order to make their several objects perfectly clear, 
contained the following declarations of policy, which we now 
recommend as essential to the success of the enterprise as 
outlined by legislation of the Seventy-Seventh and Seventy- 
Eighth General Assemblies and carried forward by your Com- 
missioners up to the present time: 

First: The celebration to be held at Put-in-Bay during 
the summer of 1913 shall be designated as "The Perry's 
Victory Centennial." 

Second : Said celebration shall take the form of an his- 
torical, educational, military, naval and patriotic exposition. 
The exposition shall open July 4, 1913, and close on or about 
September 10, 1913. This period shall be apportioned among 
the several states participating, for such special exercises 
dedicated to each state as may be hereafter determined upon. 
Third: The primary objects of the exposition shall be 
the erection of a permanent Memorial to Commodore Oliver 
Hazard Perry and the proper observance of the centenary of 
General William Henry Harrison's military campaign in the 
Northwest. 

In compliance with the spirit of the foregoing resolutions 
your Commissioners provided for the creation or an Advisory 
Historical Board and an Advisory Educational Board, to have 
charge, respectively, in behalf of the State of Ohio, of the his- 
torical and educational interests of the exposition and to 
extend those interests to other states by means of similar 
organized bodies. 

The members of the Advisory Historical Board, all of 
whom have accepted the appointment, are as follows: Pro- 
fessor George Frederick Wright, president of the Ohio State 
Historical and Archaeological Society, Oberlin ; C. H. Gallup, 
president of the Fire Lands Historical Society, Norwalk ; 
Professor Fsaac J. Cox, president of the Ohio Valley Historical 
Society, Cincinnati; William H. Cathcart, president of the 
Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland; D. K. Hollen- 

6 



beck, president of the Maumee Valley Historical Society, 
Perrysburg; E. O. Randall, secretary of the Ohio State His- 
torical and Archaeological Society, Columbus. 

The members of the Advisory Educational Board, all of 
whom have accepted the appointment, are as follows : Presi- 
dent A. B. Church, Buchtel College, Akron ; President Charles 
W. Dabney, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati ; President E. 
W. Hunt, Denison University, Granville; president C. E. 
Miller, Heidelberg University, Tiffin; Professor E. E. Bran- 
don, Miami University, Oxford; President A. T. Perry, Mar- 
ietta College, Marietta; Professor A. S. Root, Oberlin College; 
Professor C. L. Martzolff, Ohio University, Athens; President 
Charles F. Thwing, Western Reserve University, Cleveland; 
Professor R. T. Stevenson, Ohio Wesleyan University, Dela- 
ware ; President Charles G. Heckert, Wittenberg University, 
Springfield; President William O. Thompson, Ohio State 
University, Columbus ; President Walter G. Clippinger, Otter- 
bein University, Westerville. 

The initial steps toward commemorating the historical 
and educationl interests of the exposition may well be left in 
such hands, which will untimately have the co-operation of the 
foremost historical societies and almost all of the leading 
universities and colleges in the United States. 

The military aspect of the celebration, from an historical 
standpoint, will take due cognizance of General Harrison's 
march through Ohio from Portsmouth to the Lakes, his en- 
campment on the present site of Fremont, his embarcation on 
board Perry's victorious fleet, his sojourn at Put-in-Bay. his 
entrance into Michigan, his liberation of Detroit and his inva- 
sion of Canada, culminating in the crowning success of his 
campaign at the Battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813. The 
present physical boundaries of all the states bordering on the 
Great Lakes are due to these military operations, which were 
rendered possible by Perry's Victory ; and your Commissioners 
have faith that the present generation of their citizens will 
welcome the opportunity ofTered by the proposed exposition 
to pav tribute to the heroes who thus laid the foundations of 
future greatness in the empires of the Middle West and North- 
west. 

From the standpoint of present day military interests the 
exposition may well expect to command widespread attention. 
The Ohio State encampment grounds are at Cam]) Perry, only 

7 



a stone's throw from Put-in-Ikiy, and all the states participating 
in the exposition may reasonably be expected to regard its 
military importance as worthy of due observance. 

Its naval aspect, historically considered, gives rise to 
anticipations of one of the most unique, instructive and inter- 
esting National spectacles ever presented in any land. Rep- 
resentatives of the State of Pennsylvania have proposed to 
raise and restore the wreck of the flagship "Niagara," of 
Commodore Perry's fleet, which has lain for nearly a century 
at the bottom of the harbor of Erie, Pennsylvania ; and this 
proposal has led your Commissioners to contemplate the tem- 
orary restoration of practically the whole of the American and 
British fleets engaged in the Battle of Lake Erie ; to have the 
former put out from Erie and the latter from Detroit, as in the 
real war drama of 1812; to have them meet off West Sister 
Island in the most spectacular sham battle of all time, and sub- 
sequently to celebrate the unbroken peace which has existed for 
a hundred years between Great Britain and the United States, 
by conveying the combined fleets to the principal ports on the 
Great Lakes, thus extending the patriotic celebration to the 
immediate interest and participation of hundreds of thou- 
sands of citizens who would otherwise be deprived of its 
moral lessons. 

It is proposed also that United States war vessels, with 
consent of the British and Canadian governments, may enter 
the Great Lakes and participate in a naval review which is 
planned through the union of the naval militia of the several 
Lake states in such a spectacle. In itself, such a modern 
review, held for the first time on fresh water, would awaken 
very widespread interest and be of great value to the United 
States Navy, by thus affording the people of the Great Middle 
West and Northwest an opportunity of appreciating the dig- 
nity, value and necessity of our National naval armament; but 
the spectacle presented by the association of such ancient 
types of war vessels as Commodore Perry's historic "Law- 
rence" and "Niagara" with the great sea fighters of modern 
times would profoundly intensify popular interest in the 
pageant and convey to this generation an object lesson in 
National progress of the greatest possible educational value, 
while giving new energy and direction to American patriotism. 

From the standpoint of evolution in the arts of peace and 
the development of commerce, however, even greater signif- 

8 



icance might attach to the review of the shipping of the Great 
Lakes, which it is proposed to organize as perhaps the most 
important marine display of the centennial celebration. In 
this connection we beg to emphasize the sentiment expressed 
on this subject in our previous report to Your Excellency : 

"Nothing could be more appropriate, more impressive or 
more indicative of the spirit pervading the whole enterprise, 
than the assemblage in these waters, upon this occasion, of 
the greatest commercial fleet in the world, passing in review 
before the Chief Executive of the Nation and the official rep- 
resentatives of the states which today owe their extensive 
boundaries to Perry's Victory. The shipping interests of the 
Great Lakes would thus present a tribute to the commercial 
progress of the American people calculated to excite the 
interest and challenge the admiration of all civilization; and 
at the same time such a display, we believe, would be both a 
moral and material object lesson, more truly significant of 
American progress and of the real mission of our people 
among the nations of the earth, than any review of warships 
or assemblage of the enginery and equipment of war could be, 
at any time or place." 

Your Commissioners now have assurances that the great 
interests involved in the Lake shipping will generously co- 
operate in the commercial marine objects of the centennial, 
whenever necessary legislation opens the door to concerted 
action. 

The centennial period should also witness the greatest 
regatta ever held on fresh waters, marking the latest develop- 
ment of American invention and skill as related to all types 
of pleasure craft. 

At no time, however, would your Commissioners lose 
sight of the essential historic, educational and patriotic aspects 
of the proposed exposition. No great industrial exposition is 
contemplated, and therefore the successful conclusion of the 
enterprise will involve no such great expense as is commonly 
associated in the public mind with the word "exposition." 
The great number of historical, scientific, art, fraternal, poli- 
tical, patriotic, commercial and other societies and organiza- 
tions, and the important educational institutions, all of which 
flourish in their various fields of usefulness among the Lake 
States, may be relied upon to make the Perry's Victory Cen- 
tennial a Mecca of American intelligence. It will be the 

9 



special care of your Commissioners to establish and continue 
this phase of the celebration as fundamental. It is proposed 
to preserve a record of the deliberations of the various organ- 
ized bodies which will meet at Put-in-Bay during the centen- 
nial period, in memorial volumes that will be prized by the 
libraries of the world, thus affording future generations an 
invaluable compendium of information regarding the broad 
subjects which will properly come within the scope of the 
various discussions. This will be the educational heritage 
of the exposition, while the patriotic lesson it must impart will 
be permanently expressed in the Memorial erected to Perry 
and his men. 

This Memorial represents the central idea of the proposed 
centennial celebration, to which all its other adjuncts point 
as spokes within a wheel. Again, in this connection, we lay 
stress upon the language of our previous report : 

"We particularly recommend that any memorial under- 
taken by the State of Ohio in honor of Perry's Victory should 
take the form of a permanent building on Put-in-Bay Island. 
We have in mind the many temporary buildings 
erected for various expositions at great expense and subse- 
quently abandoned to the junk dealer; and we would avoid 
anything of this kind in connection with the proposed 
exposition." 

This subject inevitably suggests the policy heretofore 
pursued by the State of Ohio in reference to other expositions. 
Extending over a period of thirty-one years this State has 
appropriated the following sums for exposition purposes : In 
1876, for Philadelphia, $46,130; in 1893, for Chicago, $186,- 
255.35; in 1901, for Buffalo, $30,000; in 1903, for St. Louis, 
$75,000; in 1907, for Jamestown, $75,000. 

With the exception of the appropriation for the World's 
Fair at Chicago in 1893, all of these appropriations were of 
sums expended for temporary purposes. The only thing that 
remains as a token of the appropriation of more than $186,000 
for the Chicago exposition is the monument known as "Our 
Jewels," now in the Capitol grounds at Columbus: and for 
this memorial the State paid the sum of $116,255.35. Mean- 
while various generous appropriations have been made for 
monuments on historic battle grounds, ancient and modern, 
in the South and our own State, and others in honor of Ohio 
statesmen : but by far the greater portion of more than $400,- 

10 



000 appropriated for exposition purposes has left behind no 
trace of anything tangible, suggestive of ornament or utility. 
But one-fourth of this sum has remained in Ohio: three- 
fourths have gone to celebrate the achievements of sister 
states and the progress of the Nation at large. And yet the 
dead who died for liberty in the Battle of Lake Erie have slept 
for a century in unmarked graves. 

Without the recognition of monument or memorial de- 
noting the gratitude of their countrymen, these martyrs repose 
beneath the sod of a picturesque island of the inland sea, 
beside the very waters they immortalized in history. The 
Nation and the commonwealths that compose it have builded 
thousands of testimonials in stone and bronze to the 
gratitude of a free people for the brave deeds and noble sac- 
rifices of our soldiers, sailors and statesmen, on countless 
battlefields, along the highways of our great cities and within 
the temples of law and learning, North. South, East and West, 
throughout this broad land. From Bunker Hill to Chica- 
mauga and San Juan, we have been prodigal of National, State 
and even local memorials, and lavish in the expenditure of 
millions to make them enduring and beautiful. But for some 
strange reason that cannot be imagined without reproach, the 
testimony of our perpetual remembrance which we have else- 
where rendered so conspicuously to our honored dead has 
been withheld from the men who fought with Perry and 
perished as he triumphed. 

They redeemed to the Republic an empire vast in extent 
and unsurpassed in resources. The inland seas are dotted 
with the commerce which they saved to the American people: 
their devotion laid the foundation of many of our greal 
cities: the whole Lake region owes its American integrity, its 
unprecedented development, its triumphant past and its bril- 
liant future to their vindication of the American Navy and 
their rescue of the National prestige at one of the most critical 
moments in our history. And still for a hundred year- their 
graves have witnessed no formal honor from their country- 
men. The Nation has been remiss in its duty. The State of 
Ohio, whose waters they christened with the name »>f Victory, 
deserves censure for her neglect. This State and the great 
commonwealths whose destinies were preserved within the 
Union by the heroism of these martyrs, can no longer in the 

11 



full spirit of American patriotism delay the payment of the 
debt they owe to them. 

It is with this sense of solemn obligation that your Com- 
missioners have considered the subject of an appropriate 
Perry Memorial. Our own opinion is fortified by universal 
public sentiment to the effect that such a memorial must be 
permanent. It must not only express the patriotic desire of 
the American people to pay lasting tribute to their honored 
dead, but it must be in the highest sense artistic and histor- 
ically suggestive. It must have, by reason of these qualities.. 
a peculiar educational influence upon future generations, pro- 
ceeding from its singular individuality. Better no memorial 
than an inadequate or unworthy one. Better that the State 
of Ohio should initiate no movement in this direction than 
that she should become responsible for a misdirected and in- 
competent one. The motive that prompts our people to thus 
commemorate one of the most glorious events in our history 
and the Nation's subsequent progress of a hundred years, 
must be as broad as the American continent and as deep- 
rooted as our inherent love of free institutions. Nothing less 
will suffice than a Memorial truly National in character, taking 
rank among the worthiest of such structures in the civilized 

world. 

Fortunately all the conditions leading up to and sur- 
rounding the present project suggest that we should contem- 
plate the factor of utility in whatever building is undertaken, 
as well as the essential considerations of art, historical signif- 
icance and patriotic inspiration. These conditions lead your 
Commissioners to recommend a Memorial that will be a 
practical benefaction to mankind, a permanent guardian of 
life and property, as well as an expression of State and Na- 
tional appreciation and achievement; and it is probable that 
nowhere else in the world could these twin objects be accom- 
plished so appropriately and masterfully as on the spot conse- 
crated by the sacrifices of the Battle of Lake Erie. 

Your Commissioners have been without means to prose- 
cute a wide search for architectural designs, but we have 
s< .usrht advice from high authority and have consulted those 
who have had experience in similar undertakings. Among 
the latter were the distinguished gentlemen who constituted 
the Commission for the erection of the National McKinley 
Memorial at Canton, and we have followed the advice of the 

12 



chairman of that Commission in refraining from inviting 
indiscriminate designs, or assuming financial obligatons for 
competitive drawings by architects appointed for the task, 
until such a time as our resources would justify such a 
departure. 

But meanwhile, upon the most careful consideration of 
the subject, we have fully satisfied our own minds as to the 
character which the proposed Perry Memorial should assume, 
in order to achieve the very desirable dual objects of artistic 
and historical value and supreme usefulness. We take tin- 
liberty of submitting herewith, for the consideration of Your 
Excellency and of the General Assembly, a reproduction of a 
drawing embodying such paramount ideas as we believe 
should be manifested in any memorial finally decided upon. 

The proposed building here illustrated combines tin- es- 
sentials of artistic beauty and historical significance with such 
practical objects as a lighthouse, a wireless telegraph station. 
a meteorological station, a life-saving station and other useful 
adjuncts that might be urged with great detail as having 
highly important value from the standpoint of utility. 

The drawing submitted contemplates a building three 
hundred and seventy-five feet in height, its cost subject to 
variation according to the material used — a question to be 
determined by the resources for its construction which may 
be forthcoming from the National Government and the several 
states participating in the Pern's Victory Centennial. The 
building is so designed as to give each state certain responsi- 
bilities in its construction and decoration, so that the com- 
pleted monument, while conveying the idea of a concrete in- 
dividuality, will in detail interpret the historical and artistic 
values of the several commonwealths contributing its various 
parts and whose destiny and welfare were involved in the 
event which it is proposed to commemorate. This associa- 
tion of distinct state memorials is intended to hold good in 
the construction supporting the tower, or to the height of LOO 
feet above the lake level. The interior up to this height will 
be variously utilized for appropriate purposes, such as a room 
for the exhibition of historical relics and a capacious memorial 
hall suitable for convention purposes. 

Each of the eight or ten floors of the tower may be dedi- 
cated to the use of one of the states participating in the Cen- 
tennial. Under the pinnacle the searchlight from the great 

13 



height of more than 300 feet will be visible many miles at sea 
and cast its rays over a great land territory, conveying nightly 
to thousands of its inhabitants and to travelers at a great dis- 
tance a silent but brilliant message of good will from the scene 
of a National triumph epoch-making in the history of the 
American Republic. 

Within a few years wireless telegraphy will become a 
popular means of daily communication and especially the 
greatest safeguard of navigation. Practically every vessel 
of any importance on the Great Lakes will be supplied with 
wireless apparatus, and this will undoubtedly be the case 
when a central station, commanding the whole Lake region, is 
provided for the use of navigators. A wireless station at Put- 
in-Bay, at the topmost height of such a building as is here 
suggested, would receive messages from any point on the 
whole chain of lakes and far overland in all directions. Put- 
in-Bay Island is already connected with the mainland by 
telegraph and telephone, so that communication with all dis- 
tant points would be constantly open. A wireless-equipped 
vessel in distress on any of the Great Lakes could flash the 
call for help to the Perry Memorial, and instantly the response 
would be conveyed to the life-saving station, similarly equip- 
ped, nearest the threatened disaster, or by telegraph to any 
point from which succor might be forthcoming. What price- 
less sacrifices of life and treasure would have been saved, if 
such deliverance had been possible during the years in which 
the traffic of the Great Lakes has grown to exceed the tonnage 
that proceeds out of New York harbor or through the Suez 
Canal, can better be imagined than estimated. What security 
it would bring, and what suffering and loss it would prevent 
in the years to come, can only be measured by the increasing 
m eds of American commerce and the preciousness of human 
life. 

It is believed that the General Government would look 
with favor on a life-saving station, a light-house, a meteoro- 
logical station and a permanent fisheries exhibit in connection 
with the proposed Memorial. 

The embellishment and decoration of the approaches to 
the building may be in accordance with the desires of the 
several states contributing to its erection, and the same fact 
holds good in reference to the artistic effects of the interior 
and exterior. 

14 



It is intended that the land necessary for the building and 
its approaches shall be secured without expense to the State 
of Ohio, the General Government or any of the participating 
states, through the patriotic co-operation of the citizens of 
Put-in-Bay. The cost of maintenance is proposed to be de- 
frayed by fees collected from tourists patronizing the electric 
elevators which will convey them to the sight-seeing gallery, 
and the corporation of Put-in-Bay will permanently provide 
a custodian. Hence it is believed that all expense in con- 
nection with the proposed Memorial will cease on its 
completion. 

Your Commissioners are confident that one of the great- 
est monuments of the world, and the greatest in point of use- 
fulness to humanity, may thus be erected on Ohio soil in 
commemoration of the most famous and consequential event 
in Ohio's history, provided the General Assembly now goes 
forward with the enterprise in the same patriotic spirit which 
characterized its inception. 

For the general objects in view, relating to the permanent 
Memorial and the proposed historical and educational expo- 
sition, including the means necessary to obtain the co-oper- 
ation of the National Government and the states herein named, 
your Commissioners recommend an appropriation of One 
Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000) at the pres- 
ent session of the General Assembly. Delay would be fatal 
to the enterprise, as other states could not be expected to act 
in the absence of Ohio's initiative. But delay or failure to 
perform her whole duty in the premises seems inconceivable 
on the part of the Buckeye state, in view of her previous legis- 
lation relating to this subject, her invitation to sister states to 
join in the movement and their cordial acceptance of that 
opportunity and responsibility. 

The entire cost of the exposition, including the Perry 
Memorial, is estimated at from $800,000 to $1,000,000. Cer- 
tainly it would seem that the great State of Ohio, having led 
the enterprise, and having assumed therein the attitude of 
host toward the National Government and the commonwealths 
participating, must regard the appropriation now recom- 
mended as entirely within the bounds of reasonable expen- 
diture. 

In conclusion your Commissioners desire to express the 
sense of obligation we entertain in grateful appreciation of 

15 



the encouragement of all those persons who have manifested 
sympathy with and interest in the objects which we have 
earnestly endeavored to promote. As indicating the har- 
mony of views and unity of purpose prevailing among your 
Commissioners, it is perhaps proper to. record that every 
action taken since our deliberations began has been by unani- 
mous consent; and this spirit of concord seems to have char- 
acterized the approving attitude of individuals and the public 
toward the Commission. 

We convey our formal thanks to Honorable Judson Har- 
mon, Governor of Ohio, for his thoughtful consideration of 
the affairs which we were appointed to carry forward ; to the 
executive and legislative authorities, and the commissioners 
representing them, of the great States of Pennsylvania, Mich- 
igan, Illinois and Wisconsin, for their prompt and cordial 
acceptance of the invitation to co-operate with Ohio in the 
proposed centennial celebration ; to the senators and represen- 
tatives from Ohio in Congress who have signified their favor- 
able disposition toward the enterprise ; to the members of both 
branches of the General Assembly who have manifested 
peculiar interest in our responsibilities; to the press of Ohio 
and other states for its invariably friendly attitude toward 
the general project, and to the great body of the people, 
whose sentiment, expressed in numerous forms from countless 
sources, has encouraged us to have faith in the ultimately 
successful consummation of our labors. 
Respectfully submitted : 
(Signed) 

WILLIAM H. REINHART, 
GEORGE H. WORTHINGTON, 
WEBSTER P. HUNTINGTON, 
S. N. JOHANNSEN, 
JOHN J. MANNING, 
ELI WINKLER, 
WEBB C. HAYES, 
HORACE HOLBROOK, 
WILLIAM C. MOONEY. 



16 



Report 



-of the- 



Ohio Commissioners 

of the Perry's Victory 

Centennial 



To the 

Governor of Ohio 

February 20, 1913 



GENERAL OFFICES 

CLEVELAND 
OHIO 



*• ** u< 

JAH 29 




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2: 
■- 



Report 



To His Excellency, the Governor of Ohio : — 

The Commissioners of the Perry's Victory Centennial for the State oi ( Ihio 
respectfully submit the following report: 

Pursuant to the authority granted to him by the act of the < leneral Assembly 
of February 28, 1908 (99 6. L. 626), the Governor of the State appointed 
commissioners to co-operate with the citizens of Put-in Bay Island in preparing 
and carrying out plans for fittingly observing the one hundredth anniversary m 
the Battle of Lake Erie and of the Northwestern campaign of General William 
Henry Harrison in the War of 1812. The commissioners so appointed, pur- 
suant to the provisions of the same resolution, extended in behali oi Ohio a 
cordial imitation to "the National and State governments and to the American 
people at large" to "participate and take part in the said centennial celebration." 

The Congress of the United States promptly and cordially accepted this 
invitation of Ohio, as did also the following States, which are named in the order 
in which they joined in the enterprise by the appointment of commissioners, viz.: 
Ohio. Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, Rhode Bland. 
Kentucky, Minnesota and Louisiana. 

Of these States the following have made appropriations for the objects in 
view, in the following named sums: Ohio, including $15,000 which has reverted 
to the treasury, $83,000; Pennsylvania, $75,000; Wisconsin, $50,000; Kentucky. 
$25,000; and Rhode [sland, $25,000. The National Government has appropriated 
for the memorial and centennial celebration $250,000, thus making the total 
appropriations to date $508,000. 

The other States have for the most part not had an opportunity to appro- 
priate until the present winter. Appropriation bills are now pending in the 

legislatures of Michigan for $50,000, .Minnesota $50, I, Illinois $80,000, New 

York $150,000, and in Rhode Island an appropriation bill is pending to defray 
the expenses of the officials and representatives of the leading military organiza 
tions of that State in attending the celebration to be held in Ohio. Your com 
missioners are also advised that, with the approval of the governor and at tlu 
instance of the commissioners, an additional appropriation will be asked for in 
the State of Pennsylvania. 

In New York, Governor Sulzer, after a conference with the chairmen ol 
the appropriation committees of the Senate and House, the presidenl oi tin 
Senate, the speaker of the House and the leaders in both bodies, has announced 
I that the appropriation to be made by that State will be $150,000. In Minnesota 
| Governor Lberharl has sent a special message to the legislature urging an appro 
priation of $50,000. In Illinois Governor Dunne has expressed sympathy with 
the objects in view, and the pending bill appears to be without opposition. In 
Michigan, Governor Ferris has adopted the same course, in concert with the 
Michigan Commissioners called together at his instance, resulting in the same 
favorable pr< >spect. 



The Louisiana legislature will not be in session until next May, when an 
appropriation will be asked by the Commissioners of that Slate This State 
entered the project by voluntary action, without waiting for a Formal invita- 
tion from the State of Ohio, on account oi the mutual relation of the historic 
events connected with the War of 1812 which occurred at New Orleans and on 
the Great Lakes; With the participation of Kentucky already provided for, 
because oi the unequaled sacrifices oi her citizens in the War of 1812, the par- 
ticipation of Louisiana in the project assures a patriotic union of northern and 
southern interests in the proposed celebration which musl excite the approval 
of i mi" countrymen everywhere. 

The community oi interests created by the co-operation of so many 
American commonwealths and the National Government in the general plan 
originally suggested by the State of Ohio required an Inter-State organization 
in order to effectively carry forth the objects in view. This was effected in 
September, 1910, by the formation of the Inter State Board of the Perry's 
Victory Centennial Commissioners, consisting of all the Commissioners appointed 
by the governors of the several participating States and by the I 'resident of the 
United Stales. General officers were then elected, and have since been twice 
re-elected as follows: President-General, George II. Worthington, Cleveland; 
First Vice President-General, llentw \\ attersmi, Louisville, K y. ; Secretary- 
General. Webster L. I luntington, Cleveland; Treasurer-General, A. E. Sisson, 
Erie, La. ; and Auditor-General, Harry Cutler, Providence, R. I. An Executive 
( ommittee was organized, consisting oi the general officers, one Commissioner 
from each participating State and the three United Slates Commissioners, which 
has since discharged such business oi the enterprise as was common to all 
the States. 

The design for the Perry Memorial, a photographic reproduction of which 
accompanies this report, was adopted at a meeting of the Inter-State Hoard 
at Washington, I). C, in January, 1912, as the result of the largest and most 
representative architectural competition ever held in this country. More than 
three hundred architects applied for entrance to the competition, one hundred 
and forty-seven firms and individuals were admitted and fifty-nine furnished 
complete drawings and specifications. The contest was judged by the National 
( ommission of Fine Arts serving under appointment by President Taft, and the 
findings oi that body were unanimously endorsed 1>\ our Inter-State Hoard. 

The cost oi the memorial will approximate seven hundred thousand 
dollars, and upon its completion your Commissioners feel assured that this 
State will have within its boundaries the most beautiful and one of the cost- 
liest monuments in the world. Our Inter-State organization, inasmuch as 
this is to he a national memorial, has felt that the title to the property upon 
which the monument will stand should be vested in the Federal Government, 
and with this end in view a bill has been prepared by the Attorney General 
ol Ohio and will be introduced at the present session of the 80th General 
Assembly looking to the conveyance of the title to the United States. Your 
I ommissioners trust that this measure will receive early and favorable 
c< msideratii m. 

I he proposed memorial consists oi a granite Doric column 335 feet in 
height, 45 feet in diameter at the base and 35^ feet in diameter at the summit, 
surmounted by a spectators' gallery and a bronze tripod bearing a beacon light. 
I he walls at the base ol tin- column are 9 feet ( < inches in thickness, forming 
the circular crypt oi the memorial, and within them will he interred the remains 
of the American and British officers killed in the Battle of Lake Erie, which 
hitherto have reposed, without official marking of their resting places, on the 
shore oi Put-in-Bay harbor. This structure will stand upon a terrace \2 feet 
above the water line at Put-in-Bay, 758 feet in length by 45*' feet in width, with 
an approach by steps 400 feet in width from the water's edge. At one extremity 

4 



of the terrace will be an historical museum designed in pure Grecian style of 
architecture, which will be devoted to educational purposes and will have a floor 
space of 3,000 square Feet. At the other extremity will be an idealistic building 
consisting of a colonnade and statue emblematic oi the one hundred years of 
peace which have ensued between Greal Britain and the 1 nited States since the 
conclusion oi the War oi 1812. In this connection your Commissioners desire 
to note that the suggestion originating with the first Ohio Commission, to com- 
memorate in the erection oi this memorial the peace enduring for a century 
between the two great English speaking nations, has met with the widest approval 
by the various commissions and by the people oi the states now participating 
in the enterprise and proves to he a most persuasive reason for the sympathy 
and support of the National Government in executing it. 

The reservation upon which the completed memorial will stand consists of 
about fourteen acres oi land, which the Ohio Commissioners procured to the 
State of ( >hio by authority oi the General Assembly. The reservation is in the 
narrowest part of the Island, with the water trout on hoth sides extending 
along its entire length, so that the effect ot the memorial when completed will 
he such as if it were rising sheer from the water. Aside from the historical 
significance of the structure, its impressive beauty will add greatly to the attract- 
iveness of our beautiful group of lake islands and will contribute much to make 
of them tor the people oi Ohio and oi the Middle West and Northwest an 
ideal public playground and resort tor rest and recreation in the years to come. 

The construction has proceeded to the extent of letting contracts by the 
Inter-State Hoard lor the erection of the Doric column, which has been officially 
declared the central Perry memorial and which will he the largest monument 
in the world, with the single exception oi the Washington monument, and the 
largest column oi the kind ever attempted. The contract for its construction 
has been let tor the sum ol S3.i7.000, for the payment of which the Commissioners 
of the participating states and the National Government have set aside S305, 000. 
In furtherance of the completion ot the memorial and of an adequate celebra- 
tion the Inter-State Hoard has organized a public subscription bureau under the 
direction of Commissioner Mackenzie l\. Todd of Kentucky, with headquarters 
at Cleveland, which seems destined to materially assist hoth objects. Your 
Commissioners will at a later time make a detailed report of the sums received 
by this bureau in the State of Ohio, in accordance with the law on that subject 
enacted by the 79th General Assembly. 

The public interest in this movement to celebrate the centennial of Perry's 
Victory, of General Harrison's Northwestern campaign and of the Peace of 1814, 
inaugurated by the State of < >hio. has become so widespread during the past 
year that local celebrations during the summer of 1913, extending over a period 
of from three days to a week - at a time from July 4th to ( >ctober 5th. have been 
projected by the municipalities of many states. Organizations for local celebra- 
tions now exist in Cleveland, Toledo, Sandusky, Lorain, and Fremont, Ohio; 
Chicago; Buffalo; Detroit; Erie, Pa.; Milwaukee. Green Haw and Superior, 
Wis.; Dnluth, Minn., and Louisville, Ixv. In accordance with the suggestion 
made in the report of the Ohio Commissioners to the Governor of Ohio, under 
date of December 16th, 1909, the Pennsylvania Commissioners have provided 
lor the raising ot the old flagship "Niagara." on hoard which Commodore Perry 
won the battle of Lake Erie, after the flagship "Lawrence" had been disabled 
by the enemy. This vessel is to he completely restored and will he escorted 
during the centennial period above named by the naval militia tleet of the states 
bordering on the Great Lakes to the principal ports thereof. This phase of 
the celebration, it is anticipated, will excite much patriotic interest among the 
people of the Middle West and North West. It has the sanction of the national 
authorities as tending to confirm the American navy in the confidence of our 
people, since the navy is largely recruited from the population of the Middle 

5 



West. The local celebrations promise to be of the highest educational value 
and arc intended in particular to imparl the lessons ot American history to the 
ever-increasing number of foreign horn citizens constantly reaching our shores 
and settling in what was the Northwest and Indiana Territory during the 
period of the War < >l 1S12. 

The educational aspect of the entire project is intended to reach also to the 
rising generation. With proper state aid the Ohio Commissioners propose to 
organize the public schools and all other educational institutions of the State, 
with a view to the intellectual welfare of our youth and their knowledge and 
interest in the great events that have contributed to our national progress during 
the past KH) years. It is proposed to offer prizes for essays and compositions 
on tlie lessons of the War of 1812 in the form of cash, and of gold, silver and 
bronze medals, to he distributed under a thorough system of organization and 
accompanied by literature of educational value. This movement among the 
schools has already been started in Wisconsin and Kentucky under the auspices 
of the Wisconsin and Kentucky Commissioners, and has thus far met with 
most gratifying results; and it is purposed to extend it to Ohio and all of the 
participating states. It is hoped that the state authorities of Ohio will regard 
this plan as an important adjunct to the responsibilities resting upon your Com- 
missioners and that its object will cause them to make due provision for it. 

In various appropriations the State of Ohio has dedicated to the erection 
of the Perry memorial and the proposed centennial celebration the sum of 
$83,000. Of this amount $3,000.00 was appropriated March 15th. 1909, for the 
use of the original Ohio Commission in enabling its members to extend an 
invitation in behalf of the State of Ohio to the states bordering on the ( Teat 
Lakes, and Kentucky and Rhode Island, to participate. The sum of Si 5.545.12 
of the amount appropriated in 1910 has been returned to the treasury of the 
State, having lapsed unexpended under the law. There is in the treasury, as 
certified by the Treasurer of the Commission on December 15th, 1912, since 
which time there has been no substantial depletion of the fund, the sum of 
$18,629.75 of the balance set aside for the construction of the memorial, and a 
balance of $265.41 available for general expenses. There was also expended 
$8,950.00 as the purchase price for the site of the memorial, and S21.050.1S has 
been paid on account of the construction of the memorial and defraying the 
expenses of the competition of architects under which the contract for the 
memorial was awarded. The expenses for promotion were necessarily for a 
long time borne by the State of Ohio', but during the past year they have been 
shared equally by the State of Pennsylvania. They are now and will hence- 
forth he paid by the Inter-State Boar 



(i. 



It appears from the foregoing figures that the Ohio Commissioners have 
therefore disbursed for all expenses in promoting this great work the sum of 
$15,559.54, while the activities of the Commissioners have extended over a period 
of about five years. With this modest outlay for promotion, your Commissioners, 
during the period named, as above stated, have procured total appropriations of 
$508,000.00, including that made by the State of Ohio; the cause has received 
the endorsement of the National Government; ten states have been enlisted in 
it ; thirteen of the leading cities in the United States have signified their intention 
of holding local celebrations, and the financial outlook for discharging all of the 
responsibilities thus created is most encouraging. Since Ohio will certainly 
receive by far the greatest benefit to be derived from the construction of the 
memorial and the educational celebration planned in accordance with law at 
Put-in Bay [sland during the summer of 1913, it seems to your Commissioners 
that the State has assumed very definitely the responsibility of making proper 
provision to carry out in an adequate and becoming manner the movement which 
it originated and in relation to which it stands as host to our sister states and 
the National < rovernment. 



All of the Commissioners, State and National, are charged li\ law with 
responsibility for the educational celebration to be held at Put-in-Bay tsland, 
overlooking the scene of the Battle of Lake Erie, during the summer of 1913, 
from | nl \ 4th to September 10th. The greatest events ol this centennial period 
will center around the dates mentioned, the first being the nation'- birthday 
anniversary and the second the one hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Lake 
Erie. It is confidently expected that the President of the United States, 
the Governors of the participating and many other state- and others high in 
authority, together with representatives of the leading patriotic organizations 
and the educational institutions of states having a total population of 
more than twenty-five million people, will be present as the guests ol the 
State of Ohio to participate in the exercises. The Ohio Commissioner' 
are desirous of proper aid to enable them not only to discharge the responsi 
bilities incident to this celebration hut to enable them also to join, in a 
maimer worthy of the dignity of the Stale, with the other participating states 
and the National Government, in the completion of the magnificent memorial 
now under process of construction and which is destined to be one oi the fore 
most centers of public interest in the world. Ohio will be the chiei beneficiarj 
of the expenditures in this behalf by the National Government and the several 
states, to say nothing of the vast traffic which will be nol only next summer but 
forever directed hither as the result of this union of commonwealths in an 
enduring expression of American patriotism. Your ( ommissioners therefore 
hope that the contribution of this State to the objects in view will equal ii n ' 
exceed that of any other state, which it should do, having regard to the responsible 
attitude it has assumed in the enterprise, as well as to the material benefits which 
it will derive from the successful culmination of the plans which have been 
ad< ipted. 

Your Commissioners desire to embody in this report an expression oi 
their sense of official and personal bereavement occasioned b) the death oi 
their former colleague, Hon. [ohn J. Manning, of Toledo, which occurred 
|ulv 11, 1912. Mr. Manning's devotion to the cause in which we are engaged 
inspired his associates with profound appreciation oi his earnestness and 
zeal, while his character and attainments were such as to cement the bond 
thus created with the sentiment of enduring friendship. 

In conclusion, we feel that we should he overlooking a public duty il we did 
not extend our thanks to the executive and legislative representatives oi the 
State who have heretofore so cordially enabled us to. earn forward the work 
with which we have been entrusted as far as it has progressed up to the 
present time. And we wish also to express the same huh' oi appreciation to 
the press of the State, to its educational institutions and to the greal hosts ,,| 
individual citizens who have in so many ways manifested commendation ol 
the ( ibjects in view. 

( Signed ) 

[OHN M. LI. \LLL. President, 

( iK( )R( ;E I I. W< >RT1 I I N< iT< >.\. Vice Pres't, 

S. M. |( )l I W'XSLX. Treasurer. 

ELI WINKLER, 

WILLIAM C. M( >< >NEY, 

HORACE IK >LBR< )< >K, 

H( )RACE L. CHAPMAN, 

GE( >RGE W. DUN, 

NIC! K )L AS L< )\< A\< >RTH, 

( '( mimissi, .nei's. 

WEBSTER P. HUNTINGTON, Secretary. 



The 
Perry's Victory and Inter- 
national Peace Memorial 
and Centennial 
Celebration 



Report of 

The Ohio Commission 

to 

The Governor of Ohio 

February 20, 
1916 



Published by 

The Ohio Commission 

Cleveland, Ohio 



The 

Perry's Victory and International Peace 

Memorial and Centennial 

Celebration 



Report of 

The Ohio Commission 

-to 

The Governor of Ohio 

February 20, 
1916 



Published by 

The Ohio Commission 

Cleveland. Ohio 




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JAN 29 1920 




REPORT 

V 

To His Excellency the Governor of Ohio: 

The Ohio Perry's Victory Centennial Commission appointed 
by the Governor of this State, by authority of the General Assem- 
bly, and during the past five years acting in conjunction with the 
commissioners representing the Federal Government and the 
States of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, \e\\ York, 
Rhode Island and Kentucky, for the conduct of the Perry's 
Victory Centennial Celebration and the construction of the Terry's 
Victory and International Peace .Memorial at Put-in-Bay, South 
Bass Island, < )hio, beg leave to submit the following report: 

This Commission has heretofore hied three reports with the 
Governor of < >hio, which were printed for general distribution. 
They were presented, respectively, in January, 1909; January, 
1910, and February, 1913. In addition thereto the Interstate 
Hoard of Federal and State Commissioners has, from time to 
time, published various bonks, pamphlets, financial reports, 
and other documents, all of which, including the ( )hio reports. 
are now on hie in the State Library of ( )hio, affording a ver) 
complete literary index to the history and detailed progress oi 
the Centennial and Memorial enterprises. The titles <<i these 
publications and their dates are as follow-: "Hearing Before 
the Committee on Industrial Arts and Expositions oi the 
National House of Representatives," February IS. 1910;"Briei 
Facts Relating to the Perry's Victory Centennial," \pnl 11. 
1010; ••.Minutes of the Interstate Board," September 10, 1910; 
"Hearing Before the Committee on Industrial Arts and Expo- 
sitions of the National House of Representatives" ill. R. 
29,503), December 10. 1910; Report of Said Committee (No. 
1.804. 61st Congress. 3rd Session), December 21, 1910; Report 
of the Committee on Naval Affair- of the United State- Senate 
i Xo. 1,229, 61st Congress, 3rd Session), February 23, 1911; 
•'Minute- of the Interstate Hoard."' September 9, 1911; "Pro- 
gram of Competition for the Selection >>\ an Architect to 
Design and Supervise the Construction of the Perry Memo- 
rial." October 11. l ( 'll : ••Meetings of the Building Committee. 
Executive Committee. Interstate Board, etc.." on the occasion 
of the award of the design of the Memorial to the architect-. 



Messrs. [. M. Freedlander and A. 1). Seymour, Jr., of New 
York City, under the auspices of the National Fine Arts Com- 
mission, lanuarv 26-29, 1912; "The Terry Memorial and Cen- 
tennial Celebration," by Webster I'. Huntington, Secretary- 
General of the Interstate Hoard, with an introduction by First 




Sh 



SECTION OF ROTUNDA 

Main Entrance and Historical Tablet- 



Vice President-General Henry Watterson, [uly, 1912; "Oliver 

Hazard Terry and the Battle of Lake Erie," compiled from the 
writings of George Bancroft, Dr. Usher Parsons and others, 
and edited by Commissioner [ohn P. Sanborn, of Rhode Island, 
June, 1913; "Official Souvenir Program of the Perry's Victor) 
Centennial, "' containing 'The Tattle of Lake Erie," by Firsl 
Vice President-General Henry Watterson; "A Century of 
Peace," by General J. Warren ECeifer, United States Commis- 
sioner, and "The Perry Memorial," by |. II. Freedlander, 
Architect of the Memorial, July 4, 1913; "Minutes and Finan- 
cial Reports of the Interstate Board," containing also "A 
Digest of Laws," by General J. Warren ECeifer, United States 
Commissioner, and the Articles of Association of the Inter- 
state Hoard, September 10, November 19, 1913; "Digest of 
Minutes of the Interstate Hoard," containing detailed report 
of the audit of the hooks of the Treasurer-General of the Inter- 
state Hoard by the Cleveland Audit Company, on behali oi 
the Auditor-General of the Interstate Hoard, September 10, 
1 ( H4; and "The Terry's Victory and International Peace 
Memorial — a Brief Statement of Facts Relative to the Work 
of National and State Commissions and the Construction ol 
the Proposed Temple of Peace, in Connection with the Memo- 
rial, as an Institution for the Promotion of the Peace oi the 
World, November 1, 1914." 

These publications and the reports of the Ohio Commis- 
sion herein mentioned comprise the literature of the Centen- 
nial and Memorial enterprises, copious enough to warrant just 
conclusions by the historian of the future as to the fidelity 
with which they have been conducted. The official proceed- 
ing's of the Ohio Commission and the Interstate Hoard, to- 
gether with all correspondence from the inception ol the 
objects of these organizations to the present time — in the 
aggregate a very voluminous record — have been preserved in 
their entirety, and it is proposed to place them, at the proper 
time, filed and indexed, within the Memorial. 

Your commissioners do not believe that a detailed finan- 
cial statement of the disbursements of the Ohio Commission 
is necessary or desirable in connection with this report. The 
general statements herein made mav be verified by examina- 
tion of the voucher records in the custody oi the Auditor oi 
State of Ohio and the records of the Treasurer of the Ohio 
Commission. All moneys appropriated have been paid on 
vouchers of the department of the Auditor <>i State, and all 
such vouchers are on tile in that office 

OHIO COMMISSIONERS 

Since the appointment of the original commission by Gov- 
ernor Andrew L. Harris in 1 ( X)8, fourteen citizens of Ohio, 
wdiose appointment was authorized under two joint resolu- 



tions of the General .Assembly, have served as commissioners. 
The original commission consisted of ( ieo. II. YVorthington of 
Cleveland, Webster P. Huntington of Columbus, S. M. Johannsen 
of Put-in-Bay, Brand W'bitlock of Toledo, and William II. 
Reinhart of Sandusky. The first meeting was held July 23, 1 ( )08. 
and organized by the election of Air. Reinhart, President; Mr. 
Worthington, Vice President; Mr. Huntington, Secretary, and 
Mr. Johannsen, Treasurer. The three last named have served 
as such officials to the present time. 

In its report to the Governor of Ohio on January 12, 1909, 
this commission recommended that the General Assembly 
authorize the Governor to appoint four additional commis- 
sioners, making- a permanent commission of nine members, 
and in accordance with legislation to that end Governor |ud- 
son Harmon, in PW, appointed as such additional commis- 
sioners Horace Holbrook of Warren, Col. Webb C. Hayes of 
Premont, W'm. C. Mooney of Woodsfield, and Eli Winkler of 
Cincinnati. 

Commissioner Whitlock, finding his duties as Mayor of 
Toledo inconsistent with the service required of him as a mem- 
ber of the commission, resigned from the Board shortly after 
its initial meeting in 1908, and no successor was appointed 
until Xovember, P'0 ( >. when Governor Harmon named John J. 
Manning of Toledo to succeed him. Commissioners Reinhart 
and Huntington resigned from the commission in July, 1910, 
the latter in order to accept the position of Secretary of the Ohio 
Commission, and later that of Secretary-General of the Inter- 
state Board, with proper compensation for his services, under 
the law. General A. J. Warner of Marietta was appointed by 
Governor Harmon to succeed Commissioner Reinhart, and 
Horace P. Chapman of Columbus to succeed Commissioner 
Huntington. Thereupon, General Warner was elected Presi- 
dent of the Commission. During the interim between the 
resignation of President Reinhart and the election of President 
Warner, Vice President Worthington performed the duties 
of Acting President of the Commission. General Warner died 
August 13, PHO, and in December, 1911, Governor Harmon 
appointed John IP Clarke of Cleveland as his successor, and 
thereupon Mr. Clarke was elected President of the Commis- 
sion, in which capacity he continues to the present time. Dur- 
ing the interim, Vice President Worthington had served as 
Acting" President. Commissioner Hayes resigned in Septem- 
ber, V>\\, and was succeeded by Commissioner Nicholas Long- 
worth of Cincinnati. Commissioner Manning died July 11, 
P'12, and was succeeded by Commissioner George W. Dun of 
Toledo, by appointment of Governor James M. Cox, in May, 
1913. Mr. Dun died December 19, 1914. 

We deplore, with affectionate remembrance and regret, 
the death of those of our colleagues who relinquished, with 



their lives, the hope of witnessing the completion of the great 
Memorial which now overlooks the historic scene of the battle 
of Lake Erie and the picturesque islands .if our inland seas, 
a mutely magnificent tribute to the patriotism of tin- American 
people; but we rejoice that their devotion to this cause has 
been so nobly vindicated. 

The law relating to the service of Commisisoners pro- 
vided that they should receive no compensation except their 
necessary and actual expenses. As a matter of fact, during the 
eight years of the existence of this Commission, only five of 
the fourteen Commissioners serving have charged the State 
for such expenses, and these were gentlemen in such circum- 
stances of life as would not admit of their doing otherwise in 
justice to themselves or the interests of the State. The remain- 
ing nine Commissioners have at all times served at their own 
personal expense. 

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF 1913 

The Centennial Celebration of 1913, authorized b\ law. 
was observed during the period between July 4th and Septem- 
ber 10th, the latter being the 100th anniversary of the Battle 
of Lake Erie. The central celebration took place at Put-in- 
Bay Island and in the neighboring waters, but separate and 
distinct celebrations on a 1 arize scale, financed and conducted 
independently of the Ohio Commissioners or the Interstate 
Hoard, were held throughout the Lake region in such cities 
as Chicago. 111.: Buffalo, X. Y. : Erie, Pa.; Cleveland, Toledo, 
Sandusky, Lorain and Eairport, Ohio; Detroit and Monroe, 
Mich.: Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wis., ami in Louisville, ECy. 
The Ohio Commissioners were concerned only with the cele- 
bration at Put-in-Bay Island, except that they financed the 
cruise of the "Niagara," the restored flagship of Commodore 
Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie. It will be 
recalled that this ship was the vessel to which Commodore Periy 
transferred his flag during the battle, after his flagship, the 
"Lawrence." had been shot to pieces. The Niagara, some 
years after the conclusion of the War of 1812, was sunk in 
Erie Harbor, Pa., where she lay for nearly a century. The 
patriotism of the Pennsylvania Commissioners provided for 
her raising and restoration, out i<\ their appropriation by the 
State of Pennsylvania, for the joint objects of the Centennial 
Celebration and the Memorial, and the Ohio Commissioners 
felt it a privilege to be permitted to pay part of the expense 
of her naval escort to the several ports of the Great Lakes 
participating in the celebration. This escort consisted of the 
Ohio Naval Militia ship "Essex" and other vessels belonging 
to the naval militia of the several states. In this behalf the 
Ohio commissioners expended the sum of Sll.Sol.35. This 



Commission also financed the marine exhibit and regatta of 
the Centennial period at Put-in-Bay, including the visits of the 
"Niagara" to those waters, at a cost of $18,000. 

The wide scope of the Centennial Celebration, the concep- 
tion of which had grown immeasurably, by reason of popular 
approval in many states, during the years 1912-13, enlisted the 
interest of millions of people and was the occasion of large 
local expenditures, in the aggregate probably SI. 000.000, in 
which the < duo Commisisoners and the Interstate Board were 
not concerned, except insofar as they were able to give their 
moral support to tins patriotic undertaking. As compared 
with the series of local celebrations, however, the cost of the 
celebration at Put-in-Bay, authorized by law, was trilling, and 
the success of it amply justified the expense involved. 

THE MEMORIAL 

The Centennial Celebration of 1913, like all events of 
similar character, was necessarily transitory, while the Memo- 
rial which commemorates it and the hundred years of history 
which preceded it, stands, lasting as the pyramids, a now com- 
plete tribute to American ideals. It was upon this achieve- 
ment that the thought of your Commissioners had been cen- 
tered in the greatest degree during the period of their service. 





* 




ELEVATOR FLOOR 
Showing; one of the four Bronze Tablets containing the Roster of the 
American Fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie. 



Except for their conception o\ its necessitj and appropriate- 
ness, there would not now be any Memorial commemorating 
the heroism of American soldiers and sailors of the War of 
1X12 and the century of peace with Greal Britain. Ii is a matter 
of Ohio history that the present Memorial was an afterthought 
of the Centennial ( elebration proposed in the joint resolution 
adopted by the General Assembly of < )hio in 1908. The origi- 
nal legislation on this subject contemplated only a Centennial 
Celebration of the Battle of Lake Erie. The suggestion of a 
permanent memorial as presented in subsequent legislation 
originated with the Ohio Commissioners, who otherwise had 
full authority to proceed without reference to the construction 
of any memorial whatever. Now that this great work is prac- 
tically finished, we point to the following three essential facts 
of its conception and development, for all of which the < >hio 
Commissioners were originally responsible: 

hirst, the purpose to erect a permanent memorial; 

Second, the participation of the States bordering on the 
Great Lakes, and the States of Rhode Island and Kentucky, in 
the Centennial Celebration and the construction of such a 
menu >rial ; 

Third, the requirement that such memorial should com- 
memorate the century of peace between the English speaking 

nations of the world, as well as American valor in the War of 
1812. 

As early as January, 1909, in their report submitted to the 
Governor oi ( )hio, at a time when there were no means at hand 
to cart"}' out their purposes, and no co-operation o\ other states 
or of the Federal Government had been obtained, the Ohio 
C mimissioners said : 

"There is no public memorial, at I'ut-in I'.av or elsewhere, 
of Commodore Perry and the men who fought and perished 
with him. For nearly a hundred years such recognition has 
been denied the memory of those who. by their heroism in the 
I kittle of Lake Erie, insured the rise of the present Empire of 
the Middle West and gave to American histor) ''tic of its most 
brilliant chapters. Waiving, for the present, the question as 
to whether Canada and Great Britain might not be glad to 
join in a British-American memorial to the commanders and 
sailors of both fleets, we believe there can be no difference of 
opinion regarding the proposition that it is the duty of ( )hio 
now to erect some fitting memorial to the brave men who so 
distinguished her name. Nor is it unreasonable to expect that 
other states bordering on the * Teat Lakes will be glad to unite 
with us in this object, if such a movement should prove advis- 
able. But we particularly recommend that any me- 
morial undertaken by the State of Ohio in honor of Perry's 
victory should take the form of a permanent building on 
Put-in-Bay Island." 



In the same report the Commissioners said, relative to 
the international character of the proposed celebration and 
memorial: "What could be more appropriate than an inter- 
national celebration of the conclusion of the century of peace 
between Great Britain, Canada and the United States, which 
has ensued since the signing of the Treaty of Ghent? Surely 
that were better than a one-sided celebration of a victory of 
war." 

We have here, therefore, the earliest public suggestion of 
a memorial and of the participation of other states than Ohio 
in its erection, and of its international significance. 

In their report to the Governor, dated December 16, 1909, 
and filed in January, 1910, the ( )hio Commissioners continued 
with the consideration of this subject, as follows: 

"It is with this sense of solemn obligation that your Com- 
missioners have considered the subject of an appropriate Perry 
Memorial. Our own opinion is fortified by universal public 
sentiment to the effect that such a memorial must be perma- 
nent. It must not only express the patriotic desire of the 
American people to pay lasting tribute to their honored dead, 
but it must be in the highest sense artistic and historically 
suggestive. It must have, by reason of these qualities, a pecu- 
liar educational influence upon future generations, proceeding 
from its singular individuality. Better no memorial than an 
inadequate or unworthy one. Better that the State of Ohio 
should initiate no movement in this direction than that she 
should become responsible for a misdirected and incompetent 
one. The motive that prompts our people to thus commemo- 
rate one of the most glorious events in our history and the 
Nation's subsequent progress of a hundred years, must be as 
broad as the American continent and as deep-rooted as our 
inherent love of free institutions. Nothing less will suffice 
than a Memorial truly National in character, taking rank 
among the worthiest of such structures in the civilized world." 

The report of which the foregoing language was a part, 
was first presented at a meeting of the Ohio Commissioners 
held at Toledo December 3, 1909, and attended also by all of 
the Commissioners representing the State of Pennsylvania, 
who had been recently appointed, and by one representative 
each of the States of Michigan and Illinois. This expression 

if opinion in regard to a memorial, therefore, was the first 
int action on that subject by an interstate body. How well 
the suggestions thus presented have been carried out can be 
fully determined only by a visit to the Perry's Victory and 

International Peace Memorial, declared, by those most familiar 
with monuments of like character on both hemispheres, to be 
the most beautiful, the most impressive and the most inter- 
esting in the \v< >rld. 



< 
io 



t-l 



It stands on what is virtually an isthmus, connecting the 
two larger sections of South Bass Island, overlooking the 
islands of Lake Erie spread out in a beautiful panorama in all 
directions, and the scene of Perry's victory off West Sister 
Island. A gigantic white granite Doric column. 350 feet high 
from the water's edge. 45 feet in diameter at the base, and 35 
feet in diameter at the neck, with an overhanging spectators' 
,'allery in the form of a massive square of the same dimensions 
as the diameter ol the base, stands upon a granite plaza 67 
feet square and 12 feet above the water level. It is the highest 
monument in the world, excepting only the Washington monu- 
ment, and the highest and most massive column ever attempted 
by the memorial builders of any age. '1 "he spectators' gallery is 
surmounted by a great bronze tripod supporting an immense glass 
globe, which at night is illuminated with 100 incandescent lights 
and glows with a brilliancy visible many miles at sea. The Memo- 
rial has been seen with the naked eye. in the daytime, at a dis- 
tance of thirty-five miles. The spectators' gallery will 
comfortably accommodate two hundred visitors in the open 
air at one time. From this point the visitor beholds a scene of 
unrivalled beauty. To the North lies the mouth of the I >etroit 
River and in the distance the shadowy mainland of Canada; 
to the West the mouth of the Maumee River and the waters 
which were the scene of the Battle of Lake Erie, and beyond 
the site of Toledo; to the Last a gleaming billowy expanse 
toward Cleveland, relieved by the presence of numerous ver- 
dant islands; and to the South, Sandusky in plain view, flanked 
by the peninsulas of Marble Mead and Cedar Point. From 
this eminence, the islands of Put-in-Bay, Gibraltar, Middle 
Lass, North Lass. Kelley's Island and numerous others appear 
to be laid out at the feet of the beholder like beautiful land- 
scapes in miniature. At sunrise or sunset the view is beautiful 
beyond description. 

The main approach to the Memorial is from the waters 
of Put-in-Bay Harbor, whence Commodore Perry went forth 
to meet the British foe in the Battle of Lake Erie. A flight of 
granite steps 07 feet wide ascends to the plaza, and entrance 
to the rotunda of the Memorial is obtained through four 
bronze doors marking the diameters of the column. The 
rotunda is faced with Indiana limestone and the floor is three 
feet below the terrace level, four short flights of granite steps 
leading down t<> it. The floor is of Tennessee marble with a 
centerpiece and border in color; beneath it. at a spot which 
will be appropriately marked, repose the remains of three 
British and three American officers killed in the Battle of Lake 
Erie, September 10. 1813. which for a hundred years lay buried 
on the shore of Put-in-Bay Island and were disinterred by the 
Commissioners of the Interstate Board and re-interred in the 



present Memorial, with impressive ceremonies, on September 

11, 1 ( >13. The ceiling of the rotunda takes the form of a dome. 
No artificial lighting is required by day. At night a bronze and 
alabaster light, suspended from the center of the dome, gives a 
beautiful radiance to the interior. ( )n the walls are carved in 
stone a dedicatory tablet, and around the rotunda the names of 
the American vessels engaged in the historic battle which the 
Memorial commemorates, and the names of the killed and 
wounded on board each of them. The names of the Federal Gov- 
ernment, the States participating in the construction of the 
Memorial and their Commissioners are in process of being 
placed on bronze tablets in the walls of the four doorways. 




BRONZE TRIPOD AND LIGHT 



Surmounting the Spectators' Gallery of the Memorial at a height of 350 feet. 
Tripod: Height. 21 feet; greate>t diameter. 20 feet; weight. 11 tons. 



The solemn atmosphere of this rotunda, so significant in its 
lessons of patriotism and self-sacrifice, is deepl) impressive. 

Ascending to the second floor of the Memorial, flights of 
granite steps between glistening walls of white tile rise from 
the entrance opposite to the entrance thn nigh which the visit >r 
enters on the harbor side. On this floor are bronze tablets 
containing the names of all the men engaged with the Ann 
can fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie, a total of 508 names, taken 
from the government records of those who received prize 
money for participation in the battle. Thus the Commis- 
sioners of the Interstate Board have immortalized in stone and 
bronze all those who in any degree, by loss of life or otherwise, 
contributed to one of the greatest naval achievements in his- 
tory. On the second floor also is the elevator which carries 
visitors to the spectators' gallery at the tup, an ascent of some 
320 feet, in one minute. 

khe Memorial and plaza are erected upon a reservation of 
14 acre-- which at this point is only 500 feet in width between 
the waters of 1 'ut-in- 1 lay Harbor and those of bake Erie, with 
the result that from a distance, or to one standing upon the 
plaza, the great column and it> approaches seem to rise sheer 
from the water — an illusion which greatly enhance- the beauty 
and impressiveness of the scene. 

The parking- of the grounds around the Memorial has not 
been completed, but this and the facing of the plaza floor with 
tile are the only tasks now confronting the Commissioners of 
the Interstate Board. 

Operations to clear the site of the Memorial were begun in 
June. 1 ( '12. Ground was broken for the construction of the 
Doric column October 1. 1912, and the corner-stone was laid on 
July 4, 1913, under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of Free and 
Accepted Masons of ( )hio, and in the presence of the members 
of the Interstate Board, the Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and 
State officials, judges of the Supreme Court and members of 
the General Assembly, who were invited to be present as 
guests of honor. The Centenary exercises commemorating 
the I '.attle of Lake Erie were held on September 9, 10 and 
11. at which time ceremonies of a semi-dedicatory nature were 
celebrated at the unfinished Memorial and at a public meeting 
in the I 'ut-in- 1 '.ay Coliseum and a centenary banquet at Motel 
Breakers. Cedar Point, under the auspices of the Interstate Board. 

DEDICATORY CEREM01NIES 

The afternoon meeting September 10th, the 100th anniver- 
sary of the 1 battle of Lake brie, was called to order by Presi- 
dent-General George II. VVorthington, of the Interstate board. 
who introduced lion. James M. Cox, Governor of Ohio, as 
master of ceremonies. Addresses appropriate to the occasion 
were delivered by Former President of the United State- \\ il- 



Ham 1 1. Taft, ; Dr. J. A. Macdonald, of Toronto, for the Domin- 
ion of Canada: Nun. Emory A. Walling, of Erie, Pa.; Hon. 
R. B. Burchard, Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island, and the 
Rev. A. J. Carey (colored), of Chicago. 

In the evening of the same day the Interstate Board ten- 
dered a banquet to the distinguished guests at the Hotel 
Breakers, Cedar Point. Eight hundred and thirty guests sat 
at tables. 

Hon. John II. Clarke, President of the ( )hio Commission, 
presided as toastmaster, and responses were delivered by lion. 
James M. Cox, Governor of Ohio; Hon. John K. Tener, Gov- 
ernor of Pennsylvania; Hon. James 15. McCreary, Governor 
of Kentucky; Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Governor of Illinois; 
I Ion. Aram J. Pothier, Governor of Rhode Island; Hon. Wood- 
bridge N. Ferris, Governor of Michigan; Hon. Francis E. Mc- 
Govern, Governor of Wisconsin; Hon. Samuel L. Ralston, 
Governor of Indiana; Airs. William Carry Slade, President of 
the National Society of the United States Daughters of 1812; 
Lieutenant General Nelson A. Miles, U. S. A., retired, United 
States Commissioner of the Perry's Victory Centennial; Dr. 
f. A. Macdonald. of Toronto, Canada, and Hon. William 11. 
Taft. 

At 12 o'clock noon the following day, September 11th, 
occurred the disinterment, at Put-in-Bay of the bodies of the 
American and British officers killed in the Battle of Lake 
Erie, September 10, 1812, and their re-interment beneath the 
rotunda of the Memorial. The religious services were under 
the direction of the Rt. Rev. James DeWolf Perry, D. D., 
Bishop of Rhode Island, and the Rev. Venerable Archdeacon 
II. J. Cody, I). I).. LL. D., of Toronto, and their assistants, 
including the vested choir of the Grace Episcopal Church of 
Sandusky, ( )hio. 

The military exercises were under the direction of Com- 
missioner Harry Cutler, of Rhode Island, Colonel Command- 
ing the First Light Infantry Regiment and Band of Provi- 
dence, R. I., as Chief Marshal. Participating in these exercises 
were a provisional battalion of Unites States Infantry, Capt. 
II. A. Smith commanding; officers and men from the U. S. S. 
"Wolverine." Capt. William L. Morrison commanding; the 
Third Coast Artillery Company of the Rhode Island National 
Guard; the Third Division of the Rhode Island Naval Bat- 
talion ; officers and men from the U. S. S. "Essex," "Dorothea," 
"Don Juan de Austria" and "Hawk"; the Newport Artillery 
Company, Rhode Island Militia, and the First Light Infantry 
Regiment, Rhode Island Militia. 

The remains were borne from their resting place of 
one hundred years to their final interment in the Memorial, 
in a catafalque draped with American and British flags and 



carried on the shoulders oi non-commissioned officers detailed 
by the military and naval organizations participating in the 
ceremonies, and preceded by an honorary escort consisting oi 
the Chief Marshal, the speakers of the day. the Governors ol 
States participating in the erection of the Memorial, and the 
Federal and State Commissioners of the Perry's \ ictory Cen- 
tennial, and descendants of Commodore < diver Hazard Perry. 

CONTRACTS FOR CONSTRUCTION 

The completed Memorial, except as hereinbefore stated 
(the parking of the grounds and the facing of the plaza), was 
opened to the public on June 13, 1915. 

Idle contract for the construction of the great Doric col- 
umn, in the sum of $357,588.00, was awarded by the Building 
Committee to the firm of J. C. Robinson & Sen. oi New York 
and Chicago. The contract for the construction of the plaza 
and approaches, in the sum of $122, 000.00. was awarded to the 
Stewart Engineering Corporation, of Xew York City, and sub- 
sequently reduced to $102,000. The construction of both has 
passed the most thorough tests by eminent engineers and archi 
tects. Every stone in the Memorial was required to pass two 
expert examinations before being accepted and set, one at the 
quarries in Massachusetts and the other on arrival at Put-in-Bay 
under the watchful eve of Superintendent of Construction C. E. 
Sudler. who represented the Building Committee on the ground 
throughout the period of construction. The foundations oi the 
Memorial and plaza go to rock at an average distance below 
the surface of the ground of from ten to twenty feet. If this 
portion of South Bass Island were washed into Lake Erie, the 
Memorial would still stand. 

NATIONAL OWNERSHIP 

By authority of the General Assembly, the Governor oi 
Ohio has executed a (Iced conveying the Memorial and its 
reservation to the United States Government, and this instru- 
ment is of record in the courts of < >ttawa County. All that is 
now required to make the property of National ownership and 
control is the acceptance of this trust by Congress. 

THE MEMORIAL SELF-SI STAINING 

A most gratifying stale of affairs seems to exist in reference 
to the maintenance of the Memorial. This problem appears 
to have been so solved that neither Federal nor State aid will 
be required at any time in the future to provide for the upkeep 
of the Memorial and grounds. During the period from lime 
13 to September 16, 1915, the first season of operation, more 
than 22,000 persons ascended to the spectators' gallery "i the 



Memorial, by means of the elevator, as paid passengers, the 
Fees for this service being twenty-five cents for adults and 
fifteen cents for children under the age of twelve years. From 
this patronage the total receipts were $5,470.95, leaving a bal- 
ance <>f about $4,000 after the payment of all expenses of oper- 
ation. The season of 1015, on account of unpleasant weather 
conditions and the general business depression then prevailing, 
was the dullest known in the history of Great Lake resorts, 
and Put-in-Bay, in common with other points of interest to 
tourists, suffered from the decline. The revenue from oper- 
ation of the column during that year, therefore, may be taken 
as a moderate index of what future patronage will be; and 
there is no reason to believe that there will be any diminution 
of it with the passing years. Indeed, it is probable that the 
surplus accruing each year will enable the present commis- 
sioners, or the National Government whenever it comes into 
control of the property, not only to maintain the Memorial 
and grounds, but to beautify the latter so as to make them 
among the most attractive and artistic pleasure grounds in 
America. 

APPROPRIATIONS AND COST OF MEMORIAL 

For the Centennial Celebration of 1913 and the construc- 
tion of the Memorial, the State of < )hio made appropriations as 
follows: March 12. 1909, for expenses of the Commission, 
$3,000; April 26, 1910, for Memorial building, $25,000; April 
26, 1910, for actual expenses, $5,000; May 2, 1911, for site of the 
Memorial. $5,000; May 51, I'M 1 . for Memorial and Centennial, 
$45,000; April 28, 1913, for the Memorial and Centennial and 
for incidental educational purposes in the public schools and 
other educational institutions in Ohio and for the proper par- 
ticipation of the Naval Militia of ( )hio in the Centennial Cele- 
bration, and to aid in entertaning the 1 'resident of the United 
States and other distinguished guests. SI 15.000. Of this total 
of $198,000 the sum of $15,451.12 lapsed to the State Treasury 
from the appropriation for general purposes in 1911, so that 
the total sum appropriated by the State of Ohio, for all pur- 
poses in connection with the Centennial Celebration and Me- 
morial, was S1S2.54S.SS. 

Appropriations for the Centennial Celebration and Memo- 
rial by the Federal Government and participating states other 
than Ohio were as follows: Federal Government, $250,000; 
Pennsylvania. SI 00.000; Michigan. $30,000; Illinois. $50,000; 
Wisconsin $50,000; New York" $150,000; Rhode Island, $25,- 
000; with a subsequent appropriation of $15,000 for the partici- 
pation of the State in the Centennial exercises, over which 
neither the Rhode Island Commissioners nor the Interstate 
Board had anv authority; Kentucky $25,000. and Massachu- 
setts $15,000. ' 



It should be understood thai the Interstate Board, in con 
structing a memorial and paying the expenses of the Centen- 
nial Celebration had available only such funds out of the 
several state appropriations as were voted to it, for these pur- 
poses, by the several State Commissions. Each State Com- 
mission had complete control of its own fund and segregated 
only such portion of this fund as it deemed advisable, for the 
construction of the Memorial and the cost of the Centennial 
Celebration. The same policy was pursued by the Federal 
Commissioners with reference to the Government appropria- 
tion. Thus was created a common fund for the construction 
of the Memorial and the payment of expenses of the Centennial 
Celebration, in the hands i if the Treasurer-* ieneral i >f the I nter- 
state Board. All disbursements were made on authorit) of 
the Interstate Board, or by authority <.f the Executive Com- 
mittee or the constituted officers, subsequently approved by 
the Interstate Board. 

The funds in this manner segregated by the Federal Gov- 
ernment and the several States, exclusively for the construc- 
tion of the Memorial and items of cost necessarily incident 
thereto, were as follows: Federal Government, $240,000; 
Ohio. $126,000; Pennsylvania, $50,000: Michigan, $25,000; Illi- 
nois $30,000; Wisconsin, S25.000; New York. S.?l ),()()(); Rhode 
Island, $25,000: Kentucky, $25,000 and Massachusetts $15,000. 
Total, $501,000. 

Payments on contracts were made monthly as the work 
of construction progressed; and upon the filing of this report 
there will remain in the treasury of the Interstate Hoard a 
balance of only a few thousand dollars, which will be devoted 
to the remaining necessary payments for construction and 
expenses incident thereto, and for the improvement of the 
-rounds, it any sum remains for that purpose. At the same 
time, the appropriations of Ohio will lie exhausted by the < >hio 
Commission withdrawing its present balance of $1,493.80 and 
applying it upon existing contracts. 

From the appropriations of the State of ( )hio above indi- 
cated, it will be seen that the Ohio Commissioners have been 
able to devote a much larger portion of their appropriations 
for all purposes, exclusively to the construction of the Memo 
rial, than was required or suggested by any legislation on the 
subject, The only suggestion of a definite sum required to be 
so segregated for the Memorial out of the ( >hio appropriations 
was contained in the preamble of an appropriation bill, indicat- 
ing that the sum expected by the (ieneral Assembly to be thus 
expended should be not less than S75.000. As a matter of fact, 
the Ohio Commissioners have devoted 812d, (>()() to the Memo- 
rial contracts and the incidental costs of construction, site, etc. 

The remainder of the total appropriations was devoted to 
interesting the Federal Government and the several partici- 



pating States in the enterprise. Considering the magnitude of 

the project, we believe these minor expenses will be conceded 
to have been within the bounds of strict economy. In this* 
connection, it should be borne in mind that for a period of years 
all the costs of engaging the co-operation of the National and 
State Governments devolved upon the Ohio Commissioners, 
the initiator}' steps in behalf of other appropriations, State and 
Federal, having been necessarily taken by them. Pennsyl- 
vania, after Ohio, was the first State to come forward with an 
available appropriation, and thereupon the Commissioners of 
that State generously divided with Ohio the expenses herein 
referred to. and as other States came forward with appropri- 
ations the expense to the State of ( )hio was reduced pro rata. 
The Interstate Hoard was not organized until September 10, 
1910, whereas the first appropriation made by the State of 
Ohio was on March \2, 1909, followed by an appropriation of 
$30,000 on April 26, 1910, so that there was no general treasury 
from which the cost of the Centennial Celebration and the con- 
struction of the Memorial could be paid, until sometime after 
the funds of the State of ( Mho became available for those objects 
and had been partially used in achieving them. Since Septem- 
ber 10, 1910, the Ohio Commissioners have not been required 
directly to bear any expenses of organization, except as their 
share was required of them on the same basis as these items 
of necessary expense were required of the other participating 
states and the Federal Government. So generous has been the 

! 




THE CHECKERBOARD OF ISLAND CULTIVATION. 

Photo from the top of the Memorial. 



attitude of the State and Federal Commissioners toward the 
original objects of the Ohio Commissioners, that the people of 
this State must be forever under obligations to them. 

The total cost of the Memorial will approximate $600,000, 
including the necessary costs of organization and operation, 
of which Ohio has paid, for the Memorial, as above indicated, 
only SI 26,000. 

Comparing the results obtained with those of other appro- 
priations made by the State of Ohio for objects somewhat 
similar, your Commissioners believe it appropriate t>> recite 
the fact that this State has donated to National expositions 
from Philadelphia in 1876 to San Francisco in 1915, a sum ap- 
proximating $600,000. These patriotic enterprises are now 
known only to history. This fact, it seems to your Commis- 
sioners, fully justifies their wisdom in dedicating by Ear the 
larger portion of their resources to a lasting and beautiful 
Memorial. 

THE INTERSTATE BOARD 

The Interstate Board of the Perry's Victory Centennial 
Commissioners is composed of the Commissioners appointed 
by the President of the United States and the Governors of 
the States participating in the Centennial Celebration of 1913 
and the construction of the Memorial. At its initial meeting, 
September 10, 1 ( >10, the following general officers were elected 
and have since been annually re-elected: ['resident-General, 
George H. Worthington, Ohio; First Vice President-General, 
Henry Watterson, Kentucky: Secretary-General, Webster P. 
Huntington, Ohio; Treasurer-General, A. E. Sisson, Pennsyl- 
vania; Auditor-General, Harry Cutler. Rhode Island. In Sep- 
tember, 1915, the Financial Secretary, who. prior to that time, 
had been serving under appointment of the Executive Com- 
mittee, was made a general officer, and Mackenzie l\. Todd, of 
Kentucky, was elected to succeed himself as such. 

For more than five years the Interstate Hoard has oper- 
ated under the Articles of Association adopted as the basis 
of its organization. Its officers and various committees have 
carried forward the details of the affairs with the administra- 
tion of which the several Federal and State Commissioners 
were entrusted. The utmost harmony has prevailed in all its 
deliberations, and as a practical working organization it has 
been indispensable to the objects achieved. The Board must 
necessarily continue its care and oversight of the Memorial 
and reservation until the property is taken over by the United 
States Government. Its accounts and records have been care- 
fully preserved and are open to inspection under all reasonable 
circumstances. Ultimately it is hoped the}' will find a perma- 
nent repository within the Memorial. 



PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 

During the Summer and Autumn of 1913 the Ohio Com- 
missioners conducted a State-wide "Prize Essay Contest" 
among the pupils of the high schools and parochial schools of 
this state, and the undergraduates of colleges, universities and 
normal schools, with the object of encouraging popular study, 
on the part of the rising generation, of the history and the 
patriotic and moral lessons of the War of 1 S 1 2 . The Commis- 
sioners had obtained State authority for this contest in the 
provisions of their appropriation hill passed by the General 
Assembly, April 28, 1913. Competitors were limited in the 
text of their essays to not less than 4,000 nor more than 0,000 
words. Those competing in the Nigh School contest were 
given the option of treating any one of the following subjects: 
( 1 ) "The Army and Its Heroes in the War of 1812"; (2) "The 
Navy and Its Heroes in the War of 1812;" (3) "Commodore 
Perry, the Alan and the Commander"; (4) "Ohio in 1812 and 
Her Share in the War"; (5) "The Northwestern Campaign of 
General William Henry Harrison." Competitors in the con- 
test among universities and colleges and all institutions privi- 
leged t<> grant degrees were assigned the following optional 
subjects: (1) "A Century of Peace Between English Speaking 
Peoples"; (2) "Joint Military and Naval Operations Upon the 
Waters and Shores of Lake Erie in 1813"; (3) "Results of the 
P.attle of Lake hade"; (4) "Causes of the War of 1812"; 
(5) "( )hio in 1812 and Her Share in the War." 

For the purposes of the school contest, the schools of the 
State were divided in accordance with the congressional dis- 
tricts, and the essavs of the winners in these districts, and those 
of the successful competitors in the college and university 
contest, were then entered for three general State prizes. In 
this manner every competitor was entitled to compete, not 
only for his district or local prizes, but for the grand prize in 
the state. Three prizes were awarded in each district contest, 
the first $50, the second $30.00. and the third $20.00. The 
-rand State prize, for the best essay in the State, was $200.00; 
second prize, $100.00; third, $50.00. In the college and uni- 
versity contest, a local committee of award was appointed by 
the president of each institution, and the awards were made 
under the general program of competition. 

The Commissioners employed the services of Charles S. 
Magruder, of Columbus, to direct the several contests, the 
success of which was largely attributable to his zeal and 
methods of organization. The project had the endorsement of 
the State Bureau of Public Instruction, and through the instru- 
mentality of the Superintendent, Frank W. Miller, the judges 
of award appointed and serving for the school contest were 
Professor I. V. McMillan, Superintendent of the Marietta 



Schools; Professor Lee A. Dollinger, Principal of the Sidney 
High School, and Professor John EC. Baxter, Superintendent of 
the Canton schools. The contest was conducted anony- 
mously, and in grading the various essays the judges were 
unaware of the identity of their authors. The Commissioners 
now desire to make this public acknowledgment of indebted- 
ness to State Superintendent Miller, and the judges named, 
in addition to the personal assurances heretofore given them, 
for their sacrifice of valuable time, their devotion to the task 
imposed upon them and their uniform courtesy manifested 
toward all concerned in bringing their labors to a successful 
c< >nclusi< mi. 

Hundreds ol manuscripts were received, and the work of 
making the awards was long and arduous. It is a gratifying 
tribute to the educational advancement of the pupils of Ohio 
schools and the undergraduates of her higher institutions of 
learning, to cite the opinion unanimously expressed l>v the 
able judges of the contest, to the effect Piat the average excel- 
lence of the essays submitted indicated a very high standard 
in the essential factors of original thought, research and liter- 
ary expression. 

For awards in the school and college contest, the Commis- 
sioners paid cash prizes aggregating $2,685, to seventy-eight 
competitors. 

The first prize of $200 in the State contest for the best 
essay was awarded to Wesley Newton, Jr., of Marietta High 
School, for his essay entitled, "The Navy and Its Heroes in 
the War of 1812"; the second, of $100, to Clair F. Brickner, of 
Columbus (Ohio State University), for his essay entitled, "A 
Century of Peace Between English Speaking Peoples"; and 
the third, of $50, to Russell X. MacMichael, of Bucyrus High 
School, tor his essay entitled. "The Army and tts Heroes 
in the War of 1812." 

CONCLUSION 

With the filing of the present report the Ohio Commis 
sioners feel that their responsibilities to the State ><\ Ohio 
are ended, so far as they relate to past legislation by this 
State. In common with the Commissioners representing the 
Federal Government and the participating States, they will he 
required to continue their relations with the Interstate Board 
until that organization is superseded by the Government own- 
ership and control of the Memorial property : and during what- 
ever term of service they may he thus engaged, they will 
continue diligent in the interest of the great Commonwealth 
which honored them by their appointment for the objects 
already achieved and yet to be consummated. 



Your Commission begs leave to recommend that at a suitable 
time the State of ( )hio shall appropriate sufficient funds to place 
a fitting statue of Commodore Oliver Hazard Terry in the ro- 
tunda of the Memorial. In tins recommendation the Interstate 
Board cordially joins us. The design of such a statue, to cost 
about $10,000, has been executed at the instance of the Interstate 
Board, and in the architects' original conception of the interior it 
was contemplated that it should be so erected in the rotunda; but 
the cost of the Memorial proved so great that the requisite money 
is not now available for the purpose. It seems to us that it would 
be most appropriate for the State which initiated the construction 
of this noble Memorial to bear testimony of her appreciation of 
its location within her own boundaries, by placing this finishing 
mark upon its historical significance and its patriotic appeal to 
future generations. 

Respectfully submitted, 

( Signed > 

JOHN II. CLARKE, President. 

GEORGE II. WORTHINGTON, Vice President. 

S. M. |( )HANNSEN, Treasurer. 

ELI WINKLER, 

Wild JAM C. MOONEY, 

ll( >RACE IK >1.KR( x >K, 

HORACE L. CHAPMAN, 

\K I K )LAS L( )NGW( )RTH, 



Commissioners. 



WEBSTER P. 



[UNTINGT( )N, 

Secretary 




SUNSET. 
Photo from the top of the Memorial. 



THE INTERSTATE BOARD 



GENERAL ( IFF1CERS 

President-General, George H. Worthington, Cleveland, Ohio; First 
Vice-President-General, Henry Watterson, Louisville, Ky. ; Secretary- 
General, Webster P. Huntington, Cleveland, Ohio; Treasurer-General, A. 
E. Sisson, Erie, Pa.; Auditor-General, Harry Cutler, Providence, R. I.: 
Mackenzie R, Todd, Financial Secretary, Frankfort, Ky. 

C< IMMISSK )NERS 

For the United States Government : Lieutenant-General Nelson A. Miles, 
U. S. A., Ret., Rear-Admiral Charles H. Davis. IT S. X.. Ret., Wash- 
ington. I). C; General J. Warren keiter, Springfield, Ohio. 

Ohio: John II. Clarke, George H. Worthington. Cleveland; S. M. Jo- 
hannsen, Put-in-Bay; Eli Winkler, Nicholas Longworth, Cincinnati; 
Horace Holbrook, Warren: William C. Mooney. Woodsfield ; Horace 
L. Chapman, Columbus; (Webster P. Huntington, Secretary, ( leve- 
land, ( )hio ). 

Pennsylvania: A. E. Sisson, Milton W. Shreve, Erie; Edwin II. \ are, 
Philadelphia; T. C. Jones, McKeesport ; George W. Neff, M, I )., Ma- 
sontown 

Michigan: John C. Lodge, Detroit; Arthur P, Loomis, Ionia; Roy S. 

Barnhart, Grand Rapids; E. EC. Warren. Three Oaks. 
Illinois: William II. Thompson, James Pugh, Richard S. Folsom, Nelson 

W . Lampert, Adam Wechler, Chesley R. Perry, William Porter Adams. 

Willis J. Wells, Chicago; General Philip C. Hayes, Joliet; W. II. Mc- 
intosh. Rockf ord ; II. S. Beckemeyer, Springfield. 
Wisconsin: Rear-Admiral Frederick M. Symonds, L. S. X.. Ret., Gales- 

ville; John M. Whitehead, Janesville ; A. W. Sanborn, Ashland; C. B. 

Perry, Wauwatosa; S. W Randolph, Manitowoc; Louis Bohmrich, 

Milwaukee; Sol. P. Huntington, Green Bay. 

New York : William J. Conners, George D. Emerson, William Simon, 
John F. Malone, Edward D.Jackson, Buffalo; Simon L. Adler, Charles 
II. W'iltsie, Rochester; Edward Schoeneck, William F. Rafferty, Syra- 
cuse; William L. Ormrod, Churchville ; Jacob Schiffer decker, Brooklyn. 

Rhode Island: John P. Sanborn, Newport; Louis M. Arnold. Westerly; 
Sumner Mowry, 1'eacedale: Henry E. Davis, Woonsocket ; Harry Cut- 
ler, Providence. 

Kentucky: Colonel Henry Watterson, Colonel Andrew Cowan, Louisville; 
Samuel Al. Wilson, Lexington; Colonel R. W. Nelson, Newport; Mac- 
Kenzie R. Todd, Frankfort. 



